Revelations
by Taya7
Summary: UPDATED finally! Chapter 16! The finale comes closer. Marguerite has done something that really leaves John worried.
1. The Storm

Title: Revelations  
  
By Taya7  
  
Disclaimer: You know the story... I don't own anything, not even a blade of grass as long as it grows on the Plateau (well, Alasdair and David are mine, somehow). And if it doesn't belong to me it must belong to somebody else. And that's how it is. So unfair...  
  
**********  
  
Chapter 1: The Storm  
  
Dark clouds were building up and the sun disappeared behind them. The temperature fell almost immediately and a cool wind began to blow.  
  
Lord John Roxton looked at the sky with concern.  
  
"That's not good." He muttered to himself.  
  
He turned to look at his companion. She sat on a treetrunk and was breathing heavily. He couldn't blame her for that. They had been walking through the jungle collecting different plants for nearly three days now. And without Challenger it was a very arduous task.  
  
"Marguerite," he went to her, "I think we should take shelter. This storm is not going to show consideration for us."  
  
She nodded and stood up with a groan.  
  
"You're right. We should head back for the treehouse."  
  
She turned and wanted to go into the direction where the treehouse was, when John grasped her shoulder and turned her to face him.  
  
"The storm is fast approaching. I don't think that we'd make it back to the treehouse in time." She lowered her gaze in resignation.  
  
"That means another night outside." He touched her chin gently.  
  
"Look at the bright side: That means another night with me." She smiled.  
  
"If you look at it that way..."  
  
She leaned over to kiss him when rain began dripping from the black clouds. Within few seconds the number of drops increased and both of them were wet before they noticed what was going on. Marguerite pushed him away from her.  
  
"We should postpone the romantic things until we reach a place where it is dry. I have no intention of getting soaking wet. There must be a cave around here. There are always caves when we need them." With that she ran away. John followed her.  
  
**********  
  
When they finally reached a cave both of them were soaking wet.  
  
"Brilliant. That was all I needed right now." Marguerite shouted.  
  
John couldn't help smiling. He scarcely could when she got irritated. And the appearance of her wet figure just made him laugh though she still looked beautiful. She looked at him with annoyance in her eyes.  
  
"What is it?" she snapped.  
  
"Nothing," he said, "it's just you look really..." He couldn't finish the sentence, because she started laughing.  
  
"Oh and you think you look better." she said while she stopped for breath.  
  
*********  
  
The hours passed by and it started to get dark outside. John had lighted a fire, which was very difficult at first, because the whole jungle was wet and so was the wood. Marguerite was sitting in the entrance of the cave watching what was going on outside. It was still raining and there was no one to spot. Not even a raptor roaming the jungle. That was the only thing that was good about all this.  
  
Roxton sat down next to her. His clothes and his hair were still wet.  
  
"You should take off your clothes." he said.  
  
She looked at him in surprise.  
  
"What?"  
  
He shrugged.  
  
"You are shivering and I don't want you to catch a cold." he couldn't help a boyish grin.  
  
"And you assume if I run around in this cave naked, I won't catch a cold?"  
  
He went to his backpack and got out a blanket.  
  
"I really like the part about you running around here naked, but why not wrapping you in one of these instead until our clothes are dry." She smiled at him and stood up.  
  
"Alright. But you have to turn and don't look."  
  
He had trouble hiding a smile while saying: "As you wish, my love."  
  
**********  
  
They were sitting next to each other at the fire. Both wrapped in their blankets.  
  
"This was a good idea." Marguerite said.  
  
Roxton looked at her obviously confused.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Taking the clothes off. It's much warmer now."  
  
He threw a sceptical glance at her.  
  
"But you're still shivering."  
  
She shrugged.  
  
"It's bearable."  
  
He moved closer to her and took her in his arms. The upper part of his body was naked now. She leaned against it and enjoyed the warmth that it was giving off.  
  
"Aren't you going to get cold?" she asked after a while but her voice was merely a whisper.  
  
"Don't worry about me. I've lived through worse."  
  
But she didn't hear him anymore. She was already fast asleep.  
  
He sighed and leaned back carefully trying not to wake her. He still couldn't believe how lucky he was to fall asleep next to this beautiful, intelligent and desirable woman. The love of his life.  
  
He watched her for a while and then fell asleep, too.  
  
**********  
  
When Marguerite awoke the next morning her back was sore. She sat up and touched it carefully.  
  
"Dammit." she hissed.  
  
"What is it?" Roxton asked as he entered the cave.  
  
Marguerite looked at him in surprise.  
  
"It's just my back. Where have you been?"  
  
"Outside."  
  
She waited for him to continue but when he didn't she sighed.  
  
"Yes, I can see that, but what have you done outside?"  
  
He held up some fruits.  
  
"Collecting us breakfast."  
  
He pointed at the fireplace.  
  
"I've already got your coffee ready. Would you like some?"  
  
She smiled at him dearly.  
  
"How very considerate of you. Yes, I'd like some coffee. How could I turn it down now that I know you did it especially for me?"  
  
He went over to the fireplace to pour her some coffee, when he noticed that Marguerite had stood up. He threw a glance at her. She pressed her right hand on her stomach and tried to breath steady.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked carefully.  
  
She jumped when he spoke to her, because she didn't notice that he had been watching her.  
  
"Yes, I just feel a little sick."  
  
The cheerful expression on his face faded and was instantly replaced by worry.  
  
"You felt sick yesterday morning too, didn't you?"  
  
She tried to avoid making eyecontact with him.  
  
"It's nothing, really. Let's just get back to the treehouse. I can't wait to get home. Alasdair must be missing us, too. We can't ask of Veronica and Malone to take care for two children for such a long time. Finn didn't have the patience to look after Alasdair. And George, well you know him."  
  
Roxton had to smile as he imagined Challenger explaining his scientific experiments to a barely one and a half year old boy. Of course Alasdair wasn't interested in science, at least not yet. The only thing that kept him in Challenger's laboratory were the mice and the insects. His son seemed to find them quite fascinating.  
  
Marguerite looked at him for a moment. He was completely lost in thoughts.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.  
  
"Just about Alasdair."  
  
Marguerite smiled and began to pack up her things.  
  
Their boy really made him happy. When Alasdair William Roxton was born as a result of them being trapped in the cave over two years ago, everyone in the treehouse was happy of course. Even Marguerite who never really wanted to have children and referred to them as monsters was infected by the happiness of the situation. When she held Alasdair in her arms for the first time she just knew it was right. It was a good feeling and for the first time in her life she could really enjoy it. Everyone she loved was with her. Even Malone had returned two weeks before she gave birth. He was stunned when he saw that Marguerite was very pregnant. The first thing he said was: "Did I miss that much?" No "hello" or "hi". The fact that Roxton was the father didn't really surprise him. As time passed by Marguerite and Roxton got used to being parents. The fact that they had to be much more careful, because every decision could have an impact on their son's live, was strange at first. Especially for Roxton, because he couldn't gamble with his life any longer.  
  
But Marguerite would sleep much better, if they'd make it home this time. If everything went according to the plan they would be home in two month or less.  
  
End Chapter One...  
  
I hope my English is okay. I'm from Germany so it isn't always easy. But I'm doing my best.  
  
And yes it is going to be more interesting. Only if you want me to continue of course.  
  
This is my first TLW Fanfic so please be kind. R&R... 


	2. News

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1  
  
Chapter 2: News  
  
Challenger looked at his barometer. It indicated high pressure, which usually was a sign of good weather, but he didn't trust his pressure gauge completely. He still remembered the incident, which occurred almost two years ago. When they tried to leave the Plateau for the umpteenth time and all those windows in time opened. It still gave him a shudder when he thought about being trapped in that room everything controlled by machines.  
  
He looked at the sky to convince himself the barometer was working properly. The sun was shining brightly and there were no clouds in the sky. He let out a sigh of relief. So far so good, he thought. If everything went according to the plan they would be in the balloon flying home just a few days from now.  
  
He heard the elevator coming down.  
  
"Finn, is that you?" he asked without turning around. He didn't expect Veronica or Malone to be up that early.  
  
"No, sorry to disappoint you, but it's just me." he turned.  
  
"Oh, Veronica. Why are you up so early?" he looked at her in surprise.  
  
She touched the dark-haired boy's head, whom Challenger hadn't seen so far.  
  
"Our little friend Alasdair thought it would be a good idea to get up at six o'clock in the morning. It's certainly not a thing he got from his mother."  
  
Challenger had to laugh.  
  
"That's right."  
  
He turned to the little boy.  
  
"And how are you today?"  
  
But the boy wasn't paying attention. He was already running his rounds through the garden.  
  
Veronica looked after him and shouted.  
  
"Alasdair, you know rule number one: Don't touch the electric fence!"  
  
"Yeah." The boy shouted back. He had been hearing those words since he was old enough to walk.  
  
Challenger watched him for a while.  
  
"Quite a lively boy. By the way, where is your son?"  
  
Veronica pointed towards the treehouse.  
  
"Still sleeping, thank god."  
  
David Thomas Malone was almost two months old and a good boy. He was screaming every four hours when he was hungry and spent the rest of the time sleeping. Ned and Veronica were very happy about that, because they had the chance to spend some time alone. But looking after Alasdair was a full time job. He was a very good boy, too, but he was always running around. And because he was only one and a half years old he was very curious and wanted to explore everything. And that wasn't always good of course.  
  
Veronica sighed.  
  
"Would you look after Alasdair? Then I can prepare breakfast."  
  
Challenger nodded and glanced over to the little one, who had stopped to watch some ants crawling up and down the tree.  
  
**********  
  
"Come on, Marguerite, it's just a few more yards." Roxton walked back to where Marguerite had sat down. The brunette had problems to keep up with his high speed.  
  
"A few thousand more yards, without any doubt." she hid her face in her hands and breathed heavily.  
  
He sat down beside her and rubbed her back gently.  
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
She lay her head on his shoulder.  
  
"I don't know. I think I'm just tired. A good night's sleep in my own bed in the treehouse and I'll be as good as new."  
  
He looked at her sceptically.  
  
"Let's hope so. You're not ill, are you?"  
  
She looked at him in annoyance.  
  
"John, stop worrying about me. There's nothing wrong."  
  
He shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"If you say so, my dear. But if you change your mind, I'm always there for you."  
  
Marguerite's annoyed expression disappeared and she gave in.  
  
"I know. It's just...," she stopped for a moment, "I haven't been feeling very well for some time."  
  
She looked him in the eyes to see how he was reacting. As she had expected he was shocked.  
  
"Why haven't you told me? I wouldn't have asked you to join me on this trip. I would..."  
  
He couldn't finish the sentence, because she put her finger on her mouth.  
  
"Shh. I'm feeling much better now that I'm close to you."  
  
He smiled, but his face turned serious again.  
  
"But you should have told me."  
  
She looked down to the ground.  
  
"I know. But there is more."  
  
He studied her with curious glances.  
  
"What?"  
  
She took a deep breath and looked directly into his eyes.  
  
"I have a hunch why I am feeling so sick lately."  
  
"You do, then tell me!"  
  
He could feel her struggle, if she should tell him. This seemed to be really difficult for her.  
  
She took another deep breath.  
  
"I felt the same way, when I found out that I was pregnant with Alasdair."  
  
He just looked at her with big eyes.  
  
"You mean..." he gesticulated with his hands, then stopped and just looked at her again.  
  
"You mean you are pregnant."  
  
She looked away.  
  
"I'm not sure, it's just a feeling."  
  
He took her in his arms.  
  
"But I thought you should know it." She couldn't look into his eyes right now. She felt so miserable and most of all vulnerable. She didn't think she could stand looking him into the eyes otherwise she would burst into tears.  
  
Having a second child wouldn't be so horrible. But the thought that Alasdair grew up on this Plateau with all its dangers made her sick with worry. How would that be, if there was another child to worry about. She wasn't sure, if she had the strength to go on, if anything would happen to either of them.  
  
And if they'd ever get away from this place, there were still some things from the past she had to face. And she didn't want her children to suffer from her past actions.  
  
And what about John? Marguerite was quite sure that he wasn't upset or something. In fact he seemed to be happy. Just as he had been when she had told him, that she was pregnant with Alasdair. A little overwhelmed but definitely happy.  
  
But if they'd make it home this time and he'd come home with a child and a pregnant woman in tow, people would be talking. Especially because he had a high status in the English society. There would be people, who would disagree with their relationship. Marguerite knew that John would never leave her, because of what others thought about her, but she would damage his reputation. And their children would be made a fool of when they had to go to school...  
  
Stop it, Marguerite! You're thinking too much. You don't even know if you are pregnant and you definitely don't know if we make it home this time. There had been so many opportunities and in the end there was always a disappointment.  
  
And now don't be a coward and look at him. And don't even think about crying!  
  
She looked directly into his eyes. They were full of joy and happiness, but she could also make out a little bit of worry. She didn't know if she was the reason for his worry or their unborn child or something completely different.  
  
"Could we please keep this for ourselves for now, just to see in which direction it heads?" she asked with a trembling voice.  
  
"Of course." he said while he pulled her close to him.  
  
He could hear her sobbing and felt her tears dropping on his right hand.  
  
End Chapter Two...  
  
Sorry, but I don't know how little English kids talk. So it might sound strange to you. Another sorry, because I tend to choose strange names. Alasdair (also Alistair or Alastair) is a Scottish name and it means "Protector of mankind, Defender, Helper". I would have chosen William for his firstname (you know in memory of John's brother), but I thought that he would always be connected to William's life and fate. And that makes him lose a great deal of individuality. That's the same reason why Thomas (in memory of Vee's father) is the second name of Ned and Veronica's son David (hey this name is normal, isn't it?).  
  
And of course a big thank you to everybody, who reviewed. I had had a really bad day and you helped cheering me up. That means a lot to me. Thanks. 


	3. A quiet evening

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1  
  
Chapter 3: A quiet evening  
  
They reached the treehouse in the afternoon. John opened the gate that lead into the little garden that surrounded the tree on which their house had been built. Marguerite went through it first. John followed her and closed the gate so that the electrical circuit was restored. They could already hear voices coming from above. It was definitely Veronica's voice.  
  
"Challenger, your tea is getting cold."  
  
They could hear glass breaking and then Challenger cursing.  
  
John and Marguerite exchanged knowing glances and they instantly had to smile.  
  
"We're home!" John shouted.  
  
Veronica's face appeared at one of the windows. She smiled.  
  
"Welcome home. I've just made some tea and coffee." She turned her head and then lifted the little boy up, who had been tugging at her skirt.  
  
"Here is somebody who wants to say 'hello' too."  
  
The little boy was smiling and waved his hand.  
  
"Hi, little one!" Roxton shouted.  
  
**********  
  
When they stepped out of the elevator, they were greeted by cheerful cries. Alasdair wasn't very good at speaking, yet, but when it came to screaming he was the champion.  
  
"Mummy, Da'y." he kept on saying all the time.  
  
Roxton lifted him up into his arms.  
  
"It's okay, we've missed you, too."  
  
He put him down on the floor again and put his rifle and his hat away.  
  
"Okay, let's see what Veronica has got for us!" he said and shoved Alasdair slightly into the direction of the kitchen. Marguerite grasped John's arm. He turned.  
  
"I think I'll go to bed. I'm dead tired and I'm not feeling very good."  
  
John nodded.  
  
"You look very pale. Are you sure you don't want George to take a look at you?"  
  
"No it won't be necessary, I just need to get some rest."  
  
"Okay. Sleep well, my dear." he said and kissed her briefly.  
  
Marguerite headed for their bedroom and John turned to Alasdair. The boy looked after her, sadness showing on his face.  
  
"Mummy?" he said.  
  
"She's going to bed. She's not feeling well."  
  
Alasdair didn't understand what that meant. His Mummy had gone to bed? But the sun was still shining.  
  
John noticed the confused expression on his sons face. He lifted him back up into his arms.  
  
"We go and drink some tea. Perhaps there are also some biscuits for you. And you like biscuits, don't you?"  
  
The boy instantly started to smile, when he heard the word 'biscuits'.  
  
"I knew it!" Roxton said, also smiling.  
  
**********  
  
"Where is Marguerite?" Veronica asked, when John entered with Alasdair on his arms.  
  
"She went to bed, because she was so tired."  
  
"Bisits." Alasdair shouted.  
  
"She's not ill, is she?" Veronica asked with concern.  
  
John shook his head.  
  
"No, just exhausted." he sat down with Alasdair on his lap.  
  
Ned and Finn were already sitting at the table.  
  
"So," Ned started, "how was your trip?"  
  
"Uneventful and not very interesting, but we've got everything George needed."  
  
Alasdair started whining.  
  
"Bisits." he said again and started jumping up and down on his lap.  
  
John took a biscuit from the plate on the table and gave it to the boy.  
  
"Here you are, little one. And now, stop it!"  
  
The boy seemed to be satisfied and sat down again. Veronica smiled at him, and then she turned to John.  
  
"Do you want coffee or tea?"  
  
"Tea would be nice. Thank you." Veronica poured him some tea.  
  
That was when Challenger entered the room. His red hair tousled and his face covered with soot. Everybody looked at him in surprise.  
  
"Oh my God! What happened to you, Challenger?" Finn asked.  
  
He shrugged.  
  
"Nothing. Just an unsuccessful experiment."  
  
Alasdair started laughing.  
  
"Chager." he said and pointing his finger at Challenger.  
  
John couldn't hide his smile.  
  
"But why do you go on with your experiments? We're leaving the day after tomorrow. That doesn't make sense to me." Finn looked confused.  
  
"You should know him by now. George will only stop his experiments when our balloon is about to lift off the ground." Ned said grinning.  
  
**********  
  
Roxton entered their room trying to be as quiet as a mouse, but that was very difficult, because it was so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. So he had to be very careful where he was stepping. He made it to their bed and reached out his hand to find the bedside table. His hand hit something and before he could figure out what it was it fell to the ground with an earsplitting noise. It had been a glass standing on the bedside table.  
  
"Dammit!" he silently cursed.  
  
He didn't want Marguerite to wake up, but after he had caused such a noise, it seemed to be inevitable. And turned out to be right, because he could hear Marguerite yawn.  
  
"John, is that you?" she asked with a drowsy voice.  
  
"Of course. Why Marguerite were you expecting somebody else?"  
  
She sat up and lit the candle on their bedside table so he could see where he was stepping.  
  
"No, not today." she gave him a smile.  
  
"That's very reassuring." he said while he started to get ready for bed.  
  
"Have you put Alasdair to bed?"  
  
"Two hours ago."  
  
When Alasdair was 4 months old he started to sleep through the night. And because Roxton and Marguerite were sharing her room he got his father's former room.  
  
"Good. He didn't make a fuss, did he?" she asked.  
  
Roxton shook his head, went to the bed and slipped under the covers.  
  
"No, he was to tired to protest." He moved closer to her.  
  
"Are you feeling better now?"  
  
He turned onto his back and took Marguerite in his arms.  
  
"Yes, just a little thoughtful."  
  
"I hope it's nothing, I should worry about."  
  
She shrugged.  
  
"No, you don't have to worry. It's," she hesitated for a moment, "It's nothing."  
  
He looked deep into her eyes and instantly knew she wasn't telling the truth.  
  
"Marguerite, don't try to fool me. I know you better than you think. You can tell me." he seemed to be hurt, because she didn't share her worries with him.  
  
"I'm not trying to fool you. It's just, I'm not sure if I really want to get home." Now he was stunned. He didn't expect her to say that. Marguerite, who usually couldn't stop complaining about the 'bloody' Plateau. Who used to praise the civilized world -as she used to call it- to the skies.  
  
"What?" he had to ask to make sure he didn't mishear her. But she seemed to be serious about this. She shared all her worries with him, about her past, about her destroying his reputation and about their child'ren'. When she had finished he took her in his arms.  
  
"Nobody is going to harm us. Nothing is going to happen to any of us. Not to you, not to me and not to Alasdair." he touched her belly that seemed to be just a little more bulging than before.  
  
"And not to him or her." She had to smile. He had said this with so much conviction that she almost believed it.  
  
"I hope so." she said and snuggled up to him.  
  
End Chapter Three...  
  
I'm so sorry but my introductions are always that long. I write and write and then I notice: 'Oh this was already Chapter 3 and nothing has happened yet.'  
  
Thanks to everyone, who has the patience to read my story and special thanks to the people who reviewed: keys3303, TheChosenOne3, A. Windsor, pandagal, Lexie, zeusfluff, Spirita, E1stwin and LoveMR. I hope I didn't forget anybody. Otherwise feel free to contact me. 


	4. Preparations

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1  
  
Chapter 4: Preparations  
  
"Finn?" George shouted. When nothing happened he called her again. A bit louder this time.  
  
Finally he heard somebody walking into his laboratory with a shuffle.  
  
"Boy, what's all this noise about? Did you notice that it's only six am? You're waking everybody up." George nodded.  
  
"I know, but if we want to leave in the afternoon we better get started. All these things won't pack themselves. There is a lot to do." Finn sighed. Sometimes this man was driving her crazy. Just as curious and impatient as a child.  
  
She stood there for a while watching him pack some things in boxes. He seemed to have forgotten about her presence. This was so typical. She decided to call him back to reality.  
  
"So, why did you call me here?" he looked at her.  
  
"Oh yes, you're right. I'm sorry, I forgot..."  
  
"It's okay, so what is it?"  
  
"Have you seen my thermometer? I cannot find it."  
  
"Nope, I haven't touched it. But the last time I saw it was when Veronica took David's temperature. I don't know if she's still got it." George nodded.  
  
"I'm going to ask her. And at the same time I can wake the others. If you'd be so kind and prepare breakfast, we will be on our way before sunset."  
  
"Of course I will." she said in an unenthusiastic tone, when George had left his lab.  
  
**********  
  
It was about 11am when hectic started to spread among the six explorers. Alasdair was sitting on a chair and watched them packing, searching for things, cursing and blaming each other if something was nowhere to be found. He was still wearing his pyjamas and his parents seemed to have forgotten about him. They were too preoccupied with themselves. His mother was packing things into boxes and his father helped Ned to carry the boxes outside. Alasdair decided to follow them.  
  
"I can't believe I'm leaving this place." Veronica said and sighed when she looked around.  
  
Marguerite patted her shoulder.  
  
"It won't be forever. You can always return."  
  
"I'm not so sure. Perhaps Ned doesn't want to come back with me. Or when David is older he doesn't want to go away. I don't think I could go without them." She sat down on one of the boxes. Marguerite sat down next to her gasping, because a wave of nausea hit her. She hoped Veronica didn't notice. But Veronica didn't seem to do her the favour. She looked at her suspiciously.  
  
"What is it?" she asked. Marguerite waved her hand.  
  
"It's nothing. I felt a little dizzy for a moment. Must be a circulation trouble."  
  
"Probably." Veronica said. Then she saw Alasdair who was just about to enter the elevator.  
  
"Where's your son going?" she asked.  
  
Marguerite looked up.  
  
"Alasdair!" she stood up a little bit to fast, because the nausea returned immediately. But she managed to suppress it. The boy had turned to face his mother.  
  
"Da'y." he said to defend himself. Marguerite lifted him up into her arms.  
  
"No, we're not going to Daddy. He'll be back very soon. In the meantime we're going to get you dressed."  
  
**********  
  
"I wonder, if we'll be able to lift off the ground at all. We're six adults, two children and just think about all this luggage." Ned shook his head.  
  
"It will never work." he said and seemed to be convinced by his own words.  
  
"Don't be so pessimistic. When we arrived on the Plateau we were also six adults and we had a lot of luggage. Well, we had no children then," John had to laugh at the thought of having a child with Marguerite back then, "But they are not very heavy."  
  
"Maybe you're right. I'm just a little on edge."  
  
"Why that?"  
  
Ned shrugged.  
  
"I mean how many times did we try to leave this Plateau by balloon? I'm just wondering, if we'll be sitting in the treehouse in the evening or if we'll be on our way home." John put another box into the balloon.  
  
"Who knows?" Ned was surprised that he kept so calm. When they tried to leave the Plateau the last time he was so excited. But it ended with another disappointment, because Veronica, Marguerite and Alasdair, who was only six month old back then, had been captured by a group cannibals, when they had been just about to leave. And when they had successfully freed the women and the boy, a storm had been approaching and it had been too dangerous to leave then.  
  
Ned decided to ask him:  
  
"Everything alright with you?" Roxton looked at him in surprise.  
  
"Yes, why should there be anything wrong with me?"  
  
"I don't know." He could figure out at least one reason, but he decided that it wasn't up to him to ask Roxton, if there was something wrong with Marguerite or their relationship. He knew that, if something was bothering Marguerite it bothered Roxton, too. They were just two halves of a whole. Ned was sunk in his thoughts when Roxton suddenly spoke.  
  
"What about you, Neddy-boy? You seem to be very distracted today?"  
  
"I'm worried about Veronica."  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Ned sighed.  
  
"I don't know, if she really wants to go. And I..."  
  
"Hey, guys!" It was Finn, who appeared at the edge of the clearing. The men turned. She instantly noticed that she had just interrupted an important conversation. She slowed down a bit and handed a small box over to Roxton.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt you, but Marguerite wanted this to be packed, too. She asked me to bring this to you, because she was too busy."  
  
Roxton took Marguerite's case from her.  
  
"Busy with what?" Finn sighed.  
  
"Have a guess!" He thought for a moment.  
  
"Our son?" Finn nodded.  
  
"Good guess. She's been trying to get him dressed for at least half an hour, I think. Does he always make such a fuss, if he has to get dressed?" Finn still remembered how the child ran from room to room. Marguerite had to catch him every time she wanted him to put one single garment on.  
  
"Not always, but very often." He smiled. Finn grimaced.  
  
"I hope I'll never ever have children." The men had to laugh. Finn turned and wanted to go.  
  
Roxton looked at the small box Finn had given to him. He recognized it. It was the case in which Marguerite kept her jewellery. I knew it, he thought.  
  
"Finn!" he called after her. She turned.  
  
"What did Marguerite say she'd do, if I wouldn't pack this?" Finn shrugged.  
  
"I had the permission to shoot you with my crossbow."  
  
**********  
  
"Come on, Veronica. The others are waiting for us." Marguerite put one hand on Veronica's shoulder. The younger woman was carrying her baby in her arms and had tears in her eyes. She was standing in the middle of the livingroom.  
  
"Yes, I just want to say goodbye." She bursted into tears.  
  
"This has been my home since I could start to think." Marguerite began to rub her back. She wanted to embrace Veronica to support her, but they were both carrying their children.  
  
"Every goodbye is hard. Especially if you took it for granted all the time. And if it's gone or about to go, well then you realize how important it really is to you. But you have to be grateful that you have the chance to say goodbye." Veronica smiled at her sadly.  
  
"You're right. Thank you." Marguerite returned the smile.  
  
"No problem. And just remember: This won't be forever, you'll be back before you know it."  
  
They went to the elevator.  
  
"I have to admit I'm going to miss the treehouse, too." Now Veronica had to laugh.  
  
"I can hardly believe that."  
  
**********  
  
Marguerite hated walking through the jungle with Alasdair. It gave her a feeling of uneasiness. Although she had her pistol ready to fire and her son safely in her arms, she took a look around every ten seconds. So she felt more than relieved when they finally reached the clearing. The others were already waiting for them.  
  
"What took you so long, Vee?" Finn asked. Impatient as usual, Veronica thought, Good to know, that some things never change.  
  
Marguerite and Veronica reached the balloon. Roxton and Ned took their sons from the women so they could get in more easily.  
  
"I bet you'll enjoy flying, little one." John said while he helped Marguerite into the balloon.  
  
Ned and Finn jumped out again to cut the ropes.  
  
"I can't believe it. I have the feeling that we could really make it this time. I mean we haven't been attacked so far. That's a good sign, isn't it?" Marguerite smiled.  
  
Ned and Finn jumped in.  
  
"Okay, we're ready to go." Finn said. She seemed to be excited to go into the new world.  
  
"Then may the good Lord preserve us. That we'll reach London in one piece." Challenger said.  
  
Everybody nodded. The balloon went up and nobody knew where it was taking them.  
  
End Chapter Four...  
  
The next chapter is going to be more interesting. You have my word on it!  
  
Please keep on reading, you won't regret it (at least I hope you won't:- ))!  
  
And don't forget to review... 


	5. Amazonia

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

**Chapter 5:** Amazonia

They flew over an expanse of woodland, the inland sea, some hills and some small streams and rivers until the rock faces at the edge of the Plateau could be seen. They fell away precipitously. "So this is how it ends." Veronica said and sighed. Ned lay his arm around her shoulder.

"Don't say that. It's not the end. I don't say that it's going to be the same. But who says that, just because it's different, it's going to be worse?" Veronica nodded.

"I know you're right. It's just..." she hesitated for a moment, "I've never been anywhere else. It scares me."

"Who says we're not scared?" Ned gave her a smile.

Marguerite kneeled down to Alasdair shortly before they crossed "the border to the civilized world".

"Okay, now you've got to hold on to me. It'll be a very bumpy ride." She sat down on the floor of the basket and held her son tight. Veronica did the same. Only seconds after that the balloon was enveloped in dense, white fog and it began to shake.

"Malone, make sure we're high enough. I don't think I want to hit one of these rocks again." Challenger shouted. He had grasped one of the ropes that connected the balloon with the basket. Everybody knew that he was referring to their rough landing, when they had arrived more than five years ago.

"I'll try. But it's not so easy, because I can't see a thing." Ned had to scream to drown out the howling of the wind.

"Make the balloon fly as high as possible. I'm sure it'll work out then." John shouted. 

**********

When the mist lifted the Plateau was already a few hundred yards away. Its top disappeared in the clouds. Marguerite and Veronica stood up. 

"We did it!" Marguerite said, but her voice didn't sound very cheerful. 

"Yes, we did it." Veronica whispered.

Challenger bursted out into laughter.

"I can't believe it. Finally I have the chance to see Jessie again." John said nothing he just watched Marguerite, who was -as far as he could tell- too quiet. He wrapped his arms around her waist and started to caress her belly.

"Everything all right with...?" he whispered into her ear. She nodded. And turned to look into his eyes.

"John, I'm scared." She took his hand in hers.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't know. I think I got used to the Plateau, but..." she looked at the precipitous rock face again.

"Could we discuss this later?" she asked.

"Of course." he kissed her neck and turned to look what Alasdair was doing.

Veronica started to cry again. Ned tried to comfort her, while Finn held David in her arms.

"It's okay, Veronica." Ned whispered.

Finn looked a little helpless with the infant in her arms.

"Everything's gonna be fine. You'll see." And he hoped that he was right about that.

**********

"Hey guys. I don't want to disturb you. But I think we're losing height." Finn said as if it was totally irrelevant. Challenger looked up.

"What?" he couldn't believe what Finn had just said.

"She's right." Ned said as he leant over the edge of the basket. Marguerite grasped Alasdair's hand.

"Well, then make it stop!" she snapped.

"I can't!" Challenger shouted and fear started to spread among the explorers.

"What do you mean: You can't?" Marguerite asked and she held her son's hand tighter.

"The iron and the sulphuric acid completely reacted together. There's nothing left that could possibly make us lift up again. A crash is inevitable." Alasdair looked at him with big eyes.

"Mummy?" he asked noticing that something was wrong.

"There's always something you can do, George, isn't there?" Veronica asked and there still was a glimmer of hope to be seen in her eyes.

"I'm afraid, there's nothing I can do this time." John had to laugh.

"This is ridiculous. We've hardly escaped from this bloody Plateau and now we'll fall to death? That can't be." Challenger shook his head.

"I don't think we'll be falling to death. It won't be a very comfortable landing, but the gas won't disappear all at once. It'll be consumed slowly. We'll be losing height faster than you are used to, but I think, at least I hope, we'll survive. But you should take care of David and Alasdair."

**********

When Marguerite awoke again, her first thought was for her son.

"Alasdair?" She whispered as she tried to open her eyes. Then she felt a wave of pain running through her body. She gasped. At the same moment a hand touched her cheek in a way only one person could touch it.

"John?" She succeeded in opening her eyes now. She was lying on a comfortable bed in a building that seemed to be a kind of hut. She tried to sit up, but John pushed her back gently.

"Where are we and where is Alasdair?"

"Some Indians were kind enough to take us in. At least for the next two days. Challenger told them where we're coming from. They seemed to be very interested in his stories. And the little one is sleeping over there." He pointed into the direction of the opposite wall. Marguerite seemed to relax. John on the other hand didn't. He seemed to be more thoughtful and distracted than usual. Marguerite noticed that right away.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked.

"I knew you would ask that...," he hesitated for a moment, "I had to tell him."

She was confused.

"You're losing me, John. You had to tell whom what?"

"I had to tell George about your condition." Now she understood what he meant.

"You told him about me being pregnant? But why? I thought we'd both agreed to keep this for ourselves for a while." He took her hand.

"I know, but you were unconscious. I didn't know, if that would be affecting the baby. I was worried." Marguerite's anger disappeared as fast as it had come. She was touched by his obvious concern about her and the baby. And who could be angry with such a guy just being concerned about her? Finally she gave in.

"It's okay. How is the baby by the way?" 

"Hale and hearty as a two month old fetus should be." She looked at him in surprise. She didn't expect the fetus to be that old. She still couldn't believe that only seven month from now there most likely would be the four of them.

**********

The next day went relatively quiet and uneventful. Challenger took the opportunity to look after Alasdair. He had grown fond of the little boy. Not only because he was his godchild, it was much more than that. He loved him like his own grandchild. And in a way he knew he was. Being with the little boy was like experiencing something wonderful, which had been missing in his life all the time. It was filling a void inside of him. It made him realize that science wasn't everything and that the decision not to have children had been a mistake. But when he thought about it, he had children: There were Veronica and Finn of course. They had always seen a kind of father figure in him. And there was Marguerite. There had been a lot of disagreements and arguments in the beginning. But George realized that she of all people needed a father the most, especially after Summerlee disappeared, even if she was the one who tried to deny it most vehemently. And to be honest she made him proud in a way no one else could. She had been through a lot of trouble and he didn't doubt for a second that she had had a really hard time. Perhaps even harder than he could imagine and she managed to get over her suspicion and insensitivity and she turned into a helpful, sympathetic friend, a loving mother and a partner you could rely on, admittedly with the sometimes really annoying habit to love precious stones and metals a little too much. But he was wondering, if the new situation was asking too much of her.  He looked over to her little son, who was just about disappear behind the huts.

"Alasdair!" The boy wasn't listening so Challenger was forced to run after him.

**********

Marguerite had been lying in her bed the whole day. She had a headache that was almost unbearable. John had stayed with her most of the time, so they had had the opportunity to talk and to sort some things out.

In the evening she felt a little better. She decided to take a walk to see what was happening in the village and although John didn't like to leave her he went over to Challenger to fetch their son and talk about the coming day, because they wanted to leave early in the morning.

When Marguerite stood up she felt a little dizzy at first. That made her wonder, whether she should go. But she decided that she could use some fresh air.

She had just opened the door when she could hear Veronica's voice.

"Marguerite! Please, wait for me." Veronica quickly caught up with her. Marguerite didn't know how to react. She was sure that Veronica knew about her pregnancy, too. She couldn't explain why it made her feel so uncomfortable, perhaps because it was such a private thing and she didn't like people knowing too much about her.

"I heard about it." That was the first thing Veronica said. _I knew it,_ Marguerite thought.

"Congratulations." Veronica hugged her. Marguerite gave her a weak smile.

"Thanks." They walked into the direction of the forest. When they had put some distance between them and the huts they stopped and sat down on the grass. Marguerite noticed that Veronica had a nasty wound at her back.

"Did that happen when we crashed?" Veronica nodded.

"But it's not as bad as it looks. It doesn't even hurt. What about you? How are you feeling?"

"I've felt better, but the headache is almost gone."

"I didn't mean that and you know it." Marguerite sighed. She didn't really want to talk about it. But she thought it might help to talk about it with another woman, especially because Veronica went through it herself. Well not exactly the same.

"I don't know how I feel. On the one hand I'm happy, of course. But on the other hand it scares me like hell."

"Isn't that normal?"

"I guess it is, but there is more. John doesn't understand it." Marguerite hesitated. She wasn't sure, if she should tell Veronica about it.

"John doesn't understand what?"

"Well, you don't know the English society. Especially in the High Society it's not common practice to have...," she was searching for the right words, "Children, if you're not married. And it's especially frowned upon, if you have them with a woman of my reputation." Veronica looked at her with an expression of complete bewilderment on her face.

"How can you say that? This can't be true?" Marguerite shook her head. She was on the verge of tears.

"But it is."

"Oh Marguerite, you've changed in so many ways. Don't let them destroy all that. You can be proud of yourself, of what you achieved. And John would never leave you, because of that. You know that, don't you? He loves you more than words could ever tell." Veronica had to be careful with what she was saying. Sometimes Marguerite just pushed her away, if their conversation headed into a direction she didn't like. Especially if it came to feelings and emotions. Veronica knew that she didn't like people seeing her at a vulnerable state.

"I know."

"And look at me. Ned and aren't married, at least not the way we should be. And we have a child." She had to smile as she thought about their 'wedding'. It had been a symbolic thing. A Zanga ritual, so they would always be together.

"You're right. But there are so many things and I can't stop thinking about them." Veronica put an arm around Marguerite's shoulder.

"I know what you mean, but let's think about those things when it's time. Have you decided on a name, yet?" Marguerite shrugged. She had talked about this with John in the afternoon.

"We're not sure about it yet. To be honest I think it's too early to decide on one." Veronica nodded.

They sat there for another hour before they returned to the village.

**********

_It was dark. Rain was dripping from the black clouds, which covered the night sky. She could feel bare feet walking over the muddy ground. Sometimes a foot was sinking into the mud. There was pain. She felt it. There was so much pain. She could hear shouting, yelling, screaming and shrieking. Children were sobbing, crying for their parents. Blood was everywhere. It mixed with the water that had collected in puddles. There was a mother with a little girl and a baby in her arms. She knew them. Somehow she didn't know why, but somehow she started to relax when she saw them. The little girl looked frightened. The mother seemed to be nervous. She was looking around, but she didn't seem to notice all the blood and the pain. It was more likely that she was looking out for something or somebody._

_Suddenly she recognized them. The baby, it was her._

_"Mother! Sophia!" she managed to shout before she was pushed into the mud..._

End Chapter Five...

I don't know if you know the feeling: You know you could do it much better, but there's a lack of words and so on. That's exactly what I'm feeling right now. So please R&R...

And as you might have noticed I really liked the relationship between Veronica and Marguerite, but now Veronica hangs around with Finn all the time. That's such a pity. I chose to revive this M&V relationship. I don't know, but I think it was something special (Especially in the first part of season 3. And then Finn appeared...)

And THANKS to all my loyal reviewers. You know this means a lot to me…


	6. The River

Disclaimer: I'm just having a little fun. I don't own anything. Read more: Chapter 1

**Chapter 6:** The River

Marguerite awoke with a scream. She was soaked with sweat and sat upright in her bed. Next to her John stirred.

"What is it?" he asked while he turned round to look at her. He could see a single tear streaming down her pale cheek. She didn't answer his question.

"Marguerite?" he asked again. She merely blinked. He took her in his arms and they lay back on the bed again. Alasdair didn't seem to be awake.

"It was just a bad dream." He wiped the tear off her cheek. She shook her head.

"No, it was not just a bad dream. It was much more than that. It felt so real."

"What do you mean?" 

"It felt so familiar. As if this were memories. I cannot explain it." John held her tighter.

"It's okay. It's over now." She started to relax.

"I hope you're right. But could you please hold me just to make sure it won't happen again." He smiled.

"With the greatest of pleasure, my love."

**********

The next morning they met in front of the chief's hut. When everybody was there a little boy lead them into the hut. The chief was sitting on a chair that almost looked like a throne. Several children were running around in the room. When the explorers entered the hut two women ordered the children to be silent. Challenger stepped forward and smiled.

"Chief Gézano, I'm honoured to finally talk to you in person." The chief didn't say anything; he just stared at the explorers. That confused Challenger and his smile faded.

"He cannot understand you." Marguerite mentioned matter-of-factly.

"Last time I spoke to his oldest son. He was capable of the English language."

"Well this one obviously isn't." Marguerite seemed to be annoyed that things didn't work the way she wanted them to.

"We could try Spanish or Portuguese. Only a few days journey separate us from a larger city. He might speak it." Ned suggested. Marguerite sighed.

"So I turn out to be the interpreter, again." John couldn't help smiling. This was so typical. In front of other people she tried to be tough and independent, which she certainly was, but perhaps it was because he knew her so well, he always had the impression that she was trying a little bit too hard. He rubbed her back while he was smiling.

"If you'd be so kind, my dear." That turned out to be the right thing to say in that situation. Her mood seemed to improve, at least slightly.

**********

Marguerite and the chief came to an acceptable agreement: He would let them have two of the tribe's rafts in exchange for some of Marguerite's diamonds. The others were stunned when she told them about the deal she had just done.

"You never cease to amaze me, Marguerite." Veronica said smiling.

"And that's the way it'll stay. Otherwise it would be boring, wouldn't it?" She turned to the chief again.

"Muchas gracìas, Gézano, me alegro que nos estamos de acuerdo." The chief nodded.

**********

"Alasdair, I don't like you playing around at the edge of this raft. Stay here, please!" The boy wasn't listening. He was holding Sunny, a little rabbit Veronica had sewn on the occasion of his birth, in his left hand and the other hand went splat into the water. Marguerite sighed.

"Alasdair!" The boy didn't even turn. Marguerite was just about to stand up from the blanket she was sitting on, when John took the little boy into his arms.

"Aly, your mother told you something. You don't want her to get angry with you, do you?" Alasdair shook his head, but John wasn't so sure, if his son really understood what he meant. He sat down next to Marguerite. 

They had put a little tent on each of the rafts, so the women and especially the children had a place where they could sleep. And they had tied the rafts so they wouldn't lose each other. The plan was to follow the tributary of the Amazon River until they would reach the Amazon itself. From there they had to follow a smaller river to reach the Marajóbay. It would be only a few days to Belém, the city where they could get the ferry to England.

John put his son down on the ground again.

"And you don't want to be lunch for these crocodiles, do you?" Alasdair sat down next to his parents, Sunny's long ears were still in the firm clasp of his tiny hand.

"No, no, no, no, no." Alasdair shouted and shook Sunny in time. Marguerite smiled at her son and then turned to look at John.

"You seem to have forgotten, again, that there are no croco..." she couldn't finish her sentence, because he kissed her.

"Why did you do that?" she asked afterwards.

"It seemed to be a good idea." They smiled at each other.

**********

Marguerite couldn't sleep that night. There were many thoughts haunting her mind, which just wouldn't let her. She was staring at the surface of the water, thinking about this and that, but there was one thought, which was always there, no matter how hard she tried to suppress it.

"A penny for your thoughts." Marguerite jumped. She hadn't expected someone to be awake.

"Veronica," she hissed, "Don't do that again!"

"Sorry." The other woman grinned and sat down next to Marguerite. They sat there for a moment nobody saying a word.

"What's it like?" Veronica finally broke the silence, but her voice was only a whisper. She didn't want to wake the others.

"What?" Marguerite was confused.

"London and England in general." Marguerite didn't answer her question immediately. She sighed.

"It's...," She was searching for the right words, "Well, London, it's a very big, noisy and crowded place. But also very beautiful... . It's hard to describe it to somebody who has never seen a big city before."

"What about England? What about the people?"

"England is very hilly and green, because of the meadows, which seem to be everywhere. The people are... well, just look at us: weird, but in a friendly way." She had to laugh, but at the same time an indescribable feeling of sadness crept over her. Sobbing interrupted her laughter and she started to cry.

Veronica was a little overwhelmed by her sudden emotional outburst. At first she didn't know how to react, then she just took her in her arms.

"It's okay, Marguerite." Marguerite wiped away her tears.

"It's nothing, just these bloody ups and downs you have, when you're pregnant." 

"I see." She gave Marguerite a smile and stood up. 

"You should try to get some rest now." Marguerite nodded, but when she turned to looked at the surface of the water again she saw something strange...

**********

"There it is!" Ned shouted. He looked down at the sleeping forms of his friends.

"Hey, wake up! You don't want to miss this historical moment, do you?"

"Oh, Malone, shut up!" Finn moaned. "It's not even getting light."

"That's just because your eyes are still closed. Rise and shine! It's a beautiful morning."

"How come you're in such a good mood this morning?" Veronica asked him. Ned shrugged.

"I don't know. Perhaps because I fell asleep next to the most beautiful woman in the world last night." Veronica smiled at him.

"I don't like to disturb you, but what is it, Malone?" It was Challenger. Malone pointed his finger at something straight ahead.

"There it is, the Amazon River."

End Chapter Six...

I have to admit that it wasn't particularly much fun writing this chapter. But they have to get to Belém somehow. In the next two chapters our friends will cross the ocean. From Belém they'll go to Freetown in Sierra Leone, Le Havre in France and perhaps they even make it to Southampton in the UK:-) And some mysterious things start to happen (it's probably the beginning of some events you might have been looking for)... 

You have to read it yourself. I don't want to spoil it...

And another thing: I don't speak Spanish, so I had to ask my sister. She's learning it at school, but only for one year, so please be lenient.

Thanks as always to everyone, who reviewed:

A. Windsor: One of my loyal reviewers. Thanks a lot for all your kind reviews. I'm glad you like Alasdair so much, because it's a lot of fun writing about him.

TheChosenOne3: Your reviews mean a lot to me. Thank you! Yes, the end of Chapter 5 was very mysterious and also very important for the rest of the story. And of course you're right: Things are never that simple… What about your story, by the way? When are you going to continue it?

pandagal: Also a loyal reviewer. Thank you so much for having the patience reading my story. The question, if the baby is a girl or a boy is gonna be answered soon. You'll get a hint in Chapter 10...

Spirita: Thank you so much for your review. The M&V relationship is really important for me and it's a pity that they didn't continue with it in the show. But I have to agree with you that Finn didn't do that on purpose.

mkrux: Thanks a lot for reading and reviewing my story. And a big thank you for your encouraging words *hugs*

MR-Forever: Hey! Ein Review auf deutsch! Danke für die netten Worte. Ich hoffe der weitere Verlauf der Geschichte wird dich nicht enttäuschen...

And of course a Thank you to all the other people who read the story and didn't leave a review.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR/ (und für alle deutschen Leser) FRÖHLICHE WEIHNACHTEN & EINEN GUTEN RUTSCH  


	7. The Crossing Part One

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

**Chapter 7:** The Crossing (Part One)

The explorers had spent most of the day shopping and doing things that had to be done before they finally left South America.

George had posted a telegram at a little post office, which contained the most important information about their whereabouts.

The others had gone to buy clothes and the tickets for the ferry. They had agreed to meet at the harbour in the afternoon.

"Did you get everything you wanted?" George asked, when he saw Marguerite, John and Alasdair coming up to him. John nodded.

"Yes, we're ready to leave." Alasdair pointed his finger at something. That caught John's attention. 

"Yes, look! That's a ship, a big one." The boy stared at his father in surprise. He had seen so many things that were new to him today, but this was definitely the strangest.

"Ship!" he repeated. George smiled at the boy and turned from John, who was still occupied with his son, to Marguerite.

"Do you know what's keeping the others?" Marguerite shrugged.

"No idea."

"We're here. Sorry that we kept you waiting," Ned said, "but the women needed something to dress, that attracts not so much attention." The others gaped at Veronica and Finn when they saw them. They were wearing dresses. Veronica's was dark blue and shimmering in the sun, Finn's was red and she looked a bit clumsy in it.

"You should see the expressions on your faces! You look like the people, who were staring at us, before we wore these dresses." Veronica laughed. You didn't get the opportunity to see your friends with such a look of puzzlement on the faces very often, so you had to make the most of it.

"Oh man, this is so horrible. I hope I don't have to wear this every day. Could we please go now? I feel like I'm on show." Finn moaned.

**********

The St. Monessa wasn't a very big ship. It was designed to take about 200 people, but it was quite comfortable. Roxton, Marguerite and their son were sharing their accommodation just as Veronica, Ned and David were. Finn and Challenger each had their own room.

They met on deck after they had brought their luggage into their rooms.

"The ship casts off!" Malone said. These words caused a strange feeling in Veronica. It seemed so final, but another voice told her that this wasn't the end. Just the beginning of something new.

**********

"Come on, Marguerite. It's just dinner. You don't have to win a beauty contest." Marguerite came out of the little bathroom they had in their accommodation. She had put up her hair except for two curly strands, which hung loosely on each side of her head. Her body was covered by a long, black dress that shimmered and almost touched the ground. John looked at her holding his breath.

"Although I'm sure you would." He added.

"Thanks. I just wanted to take this as a last opportunity to wear such clothes, before my condition becomes too obvious." John lifted Alasdair up into his arms. The little boy was wearing a black pair of dungarees and a white shirt.

"Are you ready then?" he asked.

"Yes." She slipped her arm through his.

**********

When they entered the dining room the soft sound of Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz greeted them. Marguerite sighed.

"That is something I really missed." The dining room wasn't very big so it wasn't difficult to find the others. They were sitting at a round table next to one of the windows. There were two people sitting next to Challenger, who Marguerite didn't know. She sat down next to the woman and took her son from John. He sat down next to her and Malone. The woman looked at Marguerite.

"And you must be Miss Krux or is it Mrs. Roxton now?" Marguerite looked at her suspiciously. The woman was smiling at her, waiting for an answer. She was about 60 years old, extremely tarted up, had a puggy face and it seemed as if she had put on every single piece of jewellery that she possessed. But she didn't look unpleasant.

"No, it's still Miss Krux." She finally answered. The woman nodded.

"And who is that?" She asked while she was looking at Alasdair.

"That's Alasdair, our son." John cut in, knowing into which direction this conversation was heading. But the woman just nodded again. There was no sign of disapproval to be seen on her face. She gave Marguerite her hand instead.

"I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. Call it a nasty habit, but I'm just so curious sometimes, that I just forget it. My name is Marilyn Walsingham and this is my husband Robert. We're from Hunstanton in Norfolk."

"A pleasure to meet you." Marguerite forced a smile. 

"Norfolk, oh it's very nice there." George said trying to get the woman's attention. Marguerite was very grateful for that.

**********

"If you'd excuse me, please. I think I need some fresh air." Marguerite said after dinner. She stood up and handed Alasdair over to Roxton. Then she left the room as fast as she could. She couldn't stand to stay there a minute longer. She didn't know why, but it felt like suffocating. When she was on deck she felt a little better. She took a deep breath and sat down on one of the chairs standing there. She starred at the nightsky for a moment and then she saw it again. It was the woman she had seen before on the surface of the river. She was wearing a white dress that almost looked like a nightgown. Her hair was blonde and she seemed to be dancing. Her body was shrouded in some strange white light, it was almost as if she was glowing. Strange words were leaving her mouth, but Marguerite couldn't understand them. She followed the woman, but her figure started to fade until she finally disappeared.

"Wait!" she called after her, but nothing happened.

"Who are you talking to?" A voice from behind her asked. It gave Marguerite a start.

"Oh bloody hell! John, what are you doing out here?" She turned.

"I could ask the same question. Why did you leave all of a sudden?" She didn't know why, but she felt as if he had caught her doing something she should not have done.

"I don't know. I just had to." She sat down on the chair again. 

"Marguerite," John kneeled down to look her eye-to-eye, "We're worried about you. Even Alasdair noticed that there is something wrong with you."

"There is nothing wrong with me." She snapped and buried her face in her hands. She hated it when he knew her so well. But she didn't want to tell him what she felt just now. She feared that it sounded too weird. John looked down to the ground, disappointment showing on his face.

"Well, I can't force you to tell me, I can just ask you to do so." Marguerite sighed.

"Look, I'm pregnant, I have a lot of things to think about before we get back to England, I'm haunted by nightmares every night, a strange woman with a white dress appears every now and then and sometimes I feel like losing control over my body, but apart from that I feel fine." He said nothing and just stared at her. It seemed as if he could read her mind by simply looking at her and that made her feel vulnerable.

"I don't expect you to understand it, but something is going on here and I'm right in the middle of it." She said.

**********

_She found herself in a dark cave. Her clothes were damp and sticking to her. It was a most uncomfortable sensation. She could see some men preparing something, but she couldn't see what exactly it was. The only thing she knew was, that it would be the end of peace and harmony._

_"Bring them in!" One of the men said. He was wearing a black robe and a hood covered his head. On the left side of his face there was a long scar._

_"As you wish, my Lord!" Another man said and rushed to the entrance of the cave. He returned with a woman and her two daughters._

_'No, he can't do this.' she whispered, but she knew he couldn't hear her... not yet._

_The mother was looking desperate. _

_"Please, they are only children. They are my children. Leave them alone. Please!"  Tears were streaming down the woman's face._

_She felt the urgent need to help this woman. So she chose to give up the only advantage she had: Her invisibility._

_"Tuathal, you should know that this is a big mistake." The man with the scar turned. He didn't seem to be surprised that she was there._

_"Rhianne! It's nice to see you again. I expected Avalon to send somebody to snoop around. But I have to admit I didn't expect them to send their most beautiful snooper." She gave a snort of contempt._

_"This isn't funny, Tuathal. The older girl, she is not chosen. If you perform this ritual she will die." The man with the scar laughed._

_"Oh Rhianne, you and your people are fooling yourselves. You know as well as I do, that there is nobody, who's interested in this girl. It's necessary to separate Morrigan and Dierdre. And if you want to save these girls, you are on your own." She didn't know, what to say. He was right. Her people couldn't do anything to save these girls, because they didn't really want it. There would be too many advantages, when Morrigan had her own body. Tuathal turned away from her. Rhianne just stood there watching a tragedy taking its course..._

End Chapter Seven...


	8. The Crossing Part Two

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

**Chapter 8:** The Crossing (Part Two)

They had been on the RMS St. Monessa for almost two weeks, before they finally reached Freetown in Sierra Leone. Roxton, Malone and Challenger left the ship to do some shopping. Finn couldn't come with them, although she wanted to, because she had caught flu and felt really miserable. That was why Veronica stayed aboard she looked after Finn. And Marguerite had to take care of Alasdair, because the sea had been very rough for the last hours, so the boy had gotten seasick.

"Mummy?" The little boy was lying on his bed, watching her, while she was reading a book. She looked at him.

"Yes?"

"Up, up." He said. For a moment Marguerite was confused and didn't know what her son wanted to tell her. But then she understood.

"You want to stand up?" The boy smiled at her.

"Yeah." Marguerite stood up from the sofa and helped him to get out of the bed. She knew that once a ship berthed, seasickness usually disappeared as quickly as it came. But you often felt a little shaky on your legs afterwards. She had been seasick more times than she could count, but someday it had been gone just like that. She had probably gotten used to travelling with a ship. She took her son's hand.

"What do you think? Should we go for a walk, to see what's going on around here?" The boy jumped up and down. Then he turned and pointed his finger on the rabbit, which was still lying on his bed.

"Sunny!" He said.

"Yes. Sunny can come with us, of course"

**********

"I can't wait to see my beloved Jessie again." Challenger said, when they were on their way back.

"I can imagine that well." Ned said smiling.

"I'm sure that she will like Alasdair and David." George remembered that Jessie always wanted to have children, but that he never felt like being a father. He knew now what he had missed.

"And the little 'Little One', of course." He added.

"By the way, how is Marguerite? I haven't seen her since the breakfast yesterday morning." John thought about sharing his worries with Challenger and Malone, but then again, why should he. It was enough, that he was sick with worry about her. He didn't want to bother the others with that. And on the other hand, he had promised Marguerite not to tell anybody and he didn't want to break that promise.

"She's fine." He said.

**********

"Miss Krux!" Marguerite heard from behind. She stopped and turned. Her fear proved to be right: It was Marilyn Walsingham. Marguerite put on a smile.

"Mrs. Walsingham, what a pleasure to see you." She lied.

"Thank you. My husband Robert just met an old friend of his so I thought it would be a good idea to join you." Marguerite's facial expression stayed exactly the same, but inwardly she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Feel free to do so." She said, while she was looking what Alasdair was doing. He was rollicking about with Sunny in his hand and running around.

"Oh, Alasdair!" Mrs Walsingham said with delight. "That was his name, wasn't it?"

Marguerite nodded.

"How do you spell it?" She asked.

"A-L-A-S-D-A-I-R."

"I just asked, because my husband's cousin has got a nephew, whose name is Alistair. You know, A-L-I-S-T-A-I-R. But it's only slightly different, isn't it?"

_I'm going to kill her. I'm going to kill her, _Marguerite thought.

"Yes." Was all she said.

**********

"She is getting on my nerves! I'm not sure, that I will be friendly, if I ever meet her again. She's trying my patience. Well, she's just insufferable. That's the best word to describe her." John looked at Marguerite and tried hard not to laugh.

"And do you expect me to tell her that, if she asks, why you aren't attending dinner?"

"No, of course not! Please, John just this one time..." He gave in.

"Okay, but what are you going to eat then?" She let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so very much." She kissed him on his cheek.

"Well?" He asked again still waiting for an answer to the other question.

"I'm not hungry. I'm going to read something." John shook his head and smiled.

"You always get what you want, huh?" She smiled back at him.

"I don't settle for less, that's the simple reason."

"I love you." He said and kissed her passionately.

"The feeling is mutual." She answered and they kissed again.

**********

As soon as Marguerite was alone in their room her mask of contentedness and confidence was instantly replaced by nothing else but exhaustion. She didn't like to fool John, but she couldn't see another possibility. What should she tell him? 'I think there is something happening with me.' And on the other hand: How could you explain something to somebody if you yourself didn't completely understand what it was all about? Probably it was nothing and she didn't want to make a row, if it turned out to be just that. 

She didn't want to think about this any longer, took the book from the table and sat down into an armchair.

**********

_"Mo Duinne! A Leannan!" The woman shouted. This seemed to be nicknames for her children. _

_"Make her stop!" The man called Tuathal said. One of Tuathal's men knocked her down and the woman stopped screaming. She didn't move anymore._

_"Mother!" The little girl shouted and pushed away from the men. _

_"Now, now, Sophia!" Tuathal said, shaking his head. The girl turned. She looked terrible. Her dark hair was wet and sticked to her head, her eyes were red from all the crying and her dress was dirty. She seemed to be surprised that this man knew her name. At that moment the baby started crying. The little girl looked at the man, who was holding her little sister._

_"What are you going to do with Maggie and me?" She asked with a trembling voice._

_Tuathal grinned._

_"Believe me, you don't want to know..."_

"Marguerite?!"

**********

"Marguerite?!" John asked. She woke up with a start. Her heart was racing and there was a film of cold sweat on her forehead. She relaxed when she saw that it was him.

"Yes?" She asked still trying to calm herself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give you a start. I just came by to put Alasdair to bed and you didn't look as if your dream was very pleasant."

"It wasn't." Was all she said. He held out his hand to help her stand up.

"Thanks."

"My pleasure." She walked straight to Alasdair's bed.

"Well, could you elaborate?" He asked. She ignored him and looked down on the little boy, who was already fast asleep.

"I thought he might still be awake." She said, while she stroked his hair.

"He was very tired." She returned to the livingroom and John followed her.

"Damn it, Marguerite! You can't deny that there is something wrong!" He finally said. 

She looked at him in surprise. She hadn't expected him to react like this. But this time she didn't even try to lie to him. She was so fed up with it.

"Yes. Yes, there is something wrong." She sat down on their bed.

"What is it then?" He sat down next to her.

"I've told you about these dreams, which started after we had left the Plateau and the woman with this white dress..." He nodded.

"Well, I know that it sounds stupid, but I think all this is or might be real. These dreams were, strange as it sounds, about my 'sister', my 'mother' and me. But I was only a baby. It can't be memories, at least not mine. And this woman, she's in my dreams as well. Her name is Rhianne and she is from Avalon. I wonder if this has something to do with the 'Chosen One' stuff and with me being Morrigan." John was left speechless. This seemed to be a little too much than he could stand at this moment. Marguerite shook her head.

"I knew it would sound too odd. You must think I'm insane." 

"No, I don't think you're insane yet I have to admit that it sounds strange. That doesn't mean I don't believe you." He took her in his arms.

"There have been stranger things." He said. She eyed him sceptically.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked.

"I don't know. The two of us ending up together, having kids and living happily ever after. Who would have thought that?" She smiled at him.

"I didn't think about the part with the kids back then, but the rest always sounded tempting to me." He laughed.

"I can hardly believe that." He drew her closer to him. 

This was the first night since their departure in which Marguerite could sleep peacefully.

End Chapter Eight...

Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long, but I had a lot to do for school and there's still some more to come. So it could take some time before the next chapter will be posted.

Thanks to everyone, who to took the time to read this. And special thanks to everbody, who reviewed:

**Spirita**: Thank you so much. I feel honoured to get the longest review. About Marilyn Walsingham: She's weird, but actually I just wanted to show that Marguerite's fears may not be justified (at least not in every case):)

**keys3303**: Thank you very much for your review! You gonna find out what this is all about…soon:)

**A.Windsor**: It was my intend to be super confusing. I love to confuse people, but I hate when people do that with me:) Thank you so much for your review. It means a lot to me.

**pandagal**: Thank you for reading, reviewing and liking my story! So that was Chapter 8. What do you think?

**Lexie**: Hehe!!! Now you get your own little text: Danke für das Review und mach auch schön weiter so… And I already said that Tuathal and Rhianne are not from the show. They are mine! And you should stop with all that criticism!

z**eusfluff**: Thank you very much for the review. I hope you are going to read the rest:)

**TheChosenOne3**: The dreams Marguerite has are… I'm not going to tell you. It would be boring if you knew it, wouldn't it? But I hope you are going to like it, because it's supernatural:) Thank you so much for your review and for the kind words.

**mkrux**: I'm glad you like it so far. Thanks for the review on Chapter 7. I hope you liked this one, too!

**Angel LeeAnn**: I'm honoured to get a review from you! Your stories are just so great! Thank you so much for all the reviews. It means a lot to me.


	9. England

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

**Chapter 9:** England

When they had left Sierra Leone, it took them another 14 days to get to Le Havre in France. It had been getting colder from day to day, because in Europe it was still winter. During the night between the 2nd and the 3rd of March they finally reached Le Havre. The temperature was still subzero, but that didn't stop the explorers to go on deck.

"Oh, I didn't think it would be that cold!" Finn exclaimed. She had her arms crossed in front of her body and was shivering.

"I told you to put on your jacket." John said. He was holding Alasdair, who was sleeping in his arms. The little boy was wearing a cap and a jacket. David was wrapped in a blanket, crying himself to sleep in Veronica's arms. 

"Look! Can you see that?" It was Ned, who pointed his finger at something.

"What?" Finn asked. "I can't see a thing."

"There! The lights. That's France." Finn's eyes were screwed-up.

"I can see it, now. That's France, cool." Challenger nodded.

"Yes, I agree. It's very cool, but that shouldn't spoil our enjoyment." Finn looked at him in confusion, but she didn't say anything.

"I guess we'll be in Southampton in the afternoon." Marguerite said.

"You can be sure about that." Challenger agreed.

**********

Marguerite turned out to be right. It was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when the jagged coastline of England came to sight. The weather was very English as well: Hazy, cloudy and an icy wind was blowing. It looked as if it was going to rain any second. That was most likely the reason, why there was almost nobody on deck. Veronica, Ned, Finn and David had already gone back into the ship. The others were still standing at the deck rail, watching England come closer, while they were speaking.

"I wonder whether we'll stay in touch once we reach England." Marguerite said sounding very thoughtful. Challenger patted her shoulder.

"Of course we will. I wouldn't worry about that. There are a lot of occasions to come, where we're going to see each other, even if we don't live in the same city." Marguerite sighed. George wasn't sure, but it sounded rather sad. John seemed to have noticed it, too. He put an arm around her shoulder. Challenger gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't think you'll get rid of us so easily. And I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to see Alasdair and David growing up and the little 'Little One', of course. Perhaps there is also going to be a christening or a wedding. Who knows?" He said the last part with a conspiratorial undertone. Roxton laughed.

"At least we should know about it, George." He said. Marguerite said nothing. They had talked about marriage, so it wasn't the first time somebody mentioned this topic, it had been an issue before. But this time it seemed to be so serious, so feasible and that made her unsure. She wasn't scared about it, but it had never been important. Marriage and love were two different things for her, one thing wasn't necessarily a consequence of the other. You could marry somebody you didn't love. Perhaps her attitude towards marriage was connected with the fact that she had had very bad experience of it. She didn't know.

"It's getting really cold and it's almost teatime, I think I'll go inside." Challenger said. He turned to Alasdair who was talking to Sunny in his own language.

"Are you coming with me, Alasdair?" The little boy looked up when he heard his name. George held out his hand. The boy was not sure whether he should take the hand or not. He looked at his parents as if to ask them for permission.

"Go with him, Aly. It's much warmer in there. We'll be coming soon." John said. The boy smiled at him and took Challenger's hand. When they were out of sight John turned to Marguerite.

"We don't have to go to Avebury, if that's what you've been trying to tell me." She looked at him in surprise.

"I haven't been trying to tell you anything. But now that you mention it..."

"I think it would be better to tell her what she has to await anyway." He said more to himself than to her.

"What?"

"I was talking about my mother. She's very..." he was searching for the right word. "Complicated."

"Meaning, she wouldn't like me?" She asked. He shook his head.

"Don't say that! But she became very moody and withdrawn after..." He stopped a moment. She took his hands in hers.

"I know."

"So where do you want to live then?" He asked after a while.

"Don't know. London would be fine with me. You know, as a provisional solution."

**********

The reception they were given was colossal. There were so many people. It gave the impression that the whole population of England was assembled at the jetty. Most of the people asked questions like: 'Where exactly have you been?', 'What did you find there?', 'How did you escape?' and so on. Marguerite didn't bother to answer them. She was too tired and too preoccupied with Alasdair, who was so nervous and in high spirits when he saw all these people. He was running around and sang something not even his mother could understand.

"Alasdair! You stay here with us, otherwise you'll get lost." She told him with insistence. But only seconds later she lost sight of him.

"Alasdair?" She took a look around, but she didn't see him. Fear welled up in her. She turned to John.

"Alasdair is gone!"

"What!?" 

"I can't see him." She looked around a second time to make sure she didn't miss a thing.

"Well, he's got to be around here somewhere." She knew it was an attempt to comfort her, but it didn't help. When she looked at all the people her hope was fading away very very quickly. And the worst of it was that it was her fault. At least she felt responsible for it. A mother should be responsible for her children, but... 

_Oh, please not now, Marguerite. There is enough time for self-pity later. It won't be that hard to find him._

"Alasdair!" John started to shout.

"We should separate. It'll be easier to find him then." Marguerite nodded.

**********

It was only five minutes later that John could hear his son sobbing. But he could also make out another voice that sounded vaguely familiar. 

"We'll find your mum and dad. Don't worry." The woman, who had Alasdair on her arms, was only a few yards away.

"Alasdair!" John shouted for the umpteenth time, but this time it was not without success. The boy turned his head to face him. He stopped crying at once.

"Da'y! Da'y!" He shouted. The woman looked at John.

"Is that your boy?" She asked.

"Yes." She handed Alasdair over to him. John looked at her more closely. He was sure, that he had seen her before, but he wasn't sure where.

"You are Lord John Roxton, aren't you?" She said. He nodded.

"Then you can certainly tell me where I can find George." When she had said that, he suddenly recognized her. 

"Jessie Challenger?" She smiled at him.

"I'm sorry, that I didn't recognize you. I..."

"There is nothing to feel sorry about. We only met twice and that was more than five years ago."

"John!" He heard Marguerite's voice. "Have you found him?"

"I can't say I have." He answered. She approached them.

"I assume this the boy's mother?" Jessie asked.

"Yes, that's Marguerite." 

"Why did you tell me that you didn't find him, when you obviously did?"  Marguerite was out of breath. John shrugged.

"I didn't find him. It was her." He pointed at Jessie.

"If that's the case, a 'thank you' would be appropriate." She gave Jessie a hand. Then she took Alasdair from Roxton.

"You gave us a real shock, little laddie." She kissed his cheek.

"He's cute." Jessie said watching the little boy snuggling up to his mother.

"I knew you would like him." It was George approaching them from behind.

"George!" They embraced each other and Marguerite cast Roxton a glance of astonishment, which seemed to amuse him.

**********

They decided to stay the night at a hotel in Southampton. Alasdair didn't let go of his parent's hands for a second. He kept a tight hold on them all the way from the harbour to the hotel. When they reached the room where the three of them would stay that night he risked letting go of them. As soon as his father had opened the door nobody could stop Alasdair. He ran into the room to explore the world, which was awaiting him behind the door. 

"Must be something that runs in the family." Marguerite laughed.

"Certainly. Now I'm convinced, that he's my son."

"Weren't you before? Oh, come on, he looks just like you." He kissed her briefly.

"I know. I was just kidding." He took the luggage and waited for her to enter before he did. He put the luggage into a corner of the room and closed the door.

"I'm well aware that you were just kidding, I just thought..." She gasped and her legs suddenly felt so weak, that she almost fell to the ground. John supported her and helped her to sit down on the bed.

"What was that?" he asked obviously concerned. "It almost looked as if you were going to faint." She shook her head.

"I have no idea. It was strangest sensation I've ever had. Like a cold wind rushing right through me. I don't know, it's hard to explain, but I didn't feel the cold, I just knew it was there. There was something inside of me that shivered with cold and it warned me somehow."

"It warned you? About what?"

"I don't know. Everything happened so fast..." she said with resignation. They remained silent for a while; they just sat there. John wanted to say that everything would be fine, but how could he if he didn't even know what was wrong?  Marguerite sighed.

"I really don't like to say this, John, but somehow I got the feeling, that this is getting worse."

End Chapter Nine...

Special thanks to:

**pandagal**: Thanks for the review and don't worry Mrs Walsingham won't bother us any longer, I think:)

**zeusfluff**: So here's chapter 9. I hope you like it. Thanks for the review!!!

**Alexpat1**: Yeah, I know that the thing about Summerlee is kinda sad, but well actually I didn't think much about including him! I just forgot… I hope you like it anyway. Thanks for your review.

**keys3303**: Thanks for the review. And I promise the mystery will come out, but not today:) 

**A.Windsor**: Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm so glad that you like Aly! 

**Angel LeeAnn**: Well about the 'Chosen One': That was in one episode of the first season. I don't know the name now, but there was this woman, who needed the blood from a virgin (you probably remember Malone!?). She said to Marguerite that she was the Chosen One. But they never really explained what it meant. So I tried to find a solution for the Chosen One and Morrigan at the same time… That's basically what it's about!

And thanks for the review of course!!!

**Spirita**: Hi! I'm so glad you like it!  As to Mrs Walsingham: I thinking about leaving her out for the rest of the chapters… And thanks for the review of course!

**TheChosenOne3**: Of course I know that you like supernatural! Well thanks for the words you know what this means to me. Talk to you soon!

**Lexi**: I don´t have to write anything 'cause you're standing right beside me:) 


	10. The Stone Circle

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

**Chapter 10:** The Stone Circle

Two weeks later...

Marguerite was nervous. She was standing in front of a huge white manor house, which was isolated from the centre of the village. Although the house itself was lovely it looked rather dreary in the scenery. But she assumed that the weather and the season had a great influence on that. And it was in the middle of March, cold, cloudy and rainy, all things the house didn't really benefit from.

She had been to Avebury before, although she couldn't remember when exactly it had been. She must have been about nine or ten years old. It had always been so quiet here, that's why she used to like it as a young girl. She had liked being on her own back then. It was strange, that was exactly what she disliked now.

"Are you coming?" John asked. He and Alasdair had already gone halfway to the house. She nodded.

After two exhausting weeks attending several meetings and giving interviews they had decided to take a break or another challenge. That depended on the way you looked at it.

That was the reason they were in Avebury. They couldn't put off visiting Roxton's mother any longer. She certainly was aware that they had returned and not visiting her would be -to put it mildly- unfriendly. And although Marguerite knew that John wasn't on particularly good terms with his mother, she still was his mother. Marguerite just hoped that she wouldn't kick her out right away. According to John she was very moody and conservative. Standing in front of the door not knowing what was going to happen next made her very unsure, but she tried to hide it. John, as if he had read her thoughts, took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. 

Then he knocked on the door. Silence. He knocked again.

"Yes, I'm coming." The sound of steps could be heard. A grey-haired woman, who was about sixty years old, opened the door. The annoyance, which was showing on her face at first, disappeared when she saw John. She clapped her hands and let out a joyful cry.

"You've come home!" she said through tears of joy and hugged him. Marguerite started to feel uneasy.

"We were so worried about you." That was when she became aware of Marguerite's and especially Alasdair's presence. Well, Alasdair didn't really try not to be seen ;on the contrary. He was jumping up and down in front of the woman, trying to show her what he was holding in his hand: Sunny. The woman looked from Alasdair to Marguerite and finally to John. All she did was raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Suzanne, I forgot to introduce you to Marguerite and Alasdair. Marguerite, this is Suzanne, our housemaid." John pointed at each of them, when he said their names.

Marguerite didn't really know what to do now, but Suzanne did. She hugged her, too. That took her by surprise.

"Nice to meet you, Suzanne." Though Marguerite was totally overwhelmed by the whole situation, she smiled. 

"And you must be Alasdair." Suzanne kneeled down in front of the little boy. He held out Sunny so she could see him.

"Oh, that's a very nice rabbit you got there. May I?" Alasdair smiled and handed his toy over to the woman. 

"Sunny!" Alasdair explained to her. She nodded and gave the animal back.

"A very nice name for a rabbit." Suzanne stood up again and turned to John.

"I guess you've come to visit your mother. But I'm sorry to tell you that the Lady is not at home. She decided to spend the cold and rather unpleasant winter in more comfortable surroundings. She is in Southern France together with a friend." John said nothing. On the one hand the news brought him relief, on the other hand he was disappointed. He'd been away for more than five years, nobody knew whether he was alive or not and she didn't even bother to come home. It was so typical for her to distance herself from him. She wouldn't even forgive him if she was on her death-bed.

**********

"Marguerite?" Suzanne said, listening attentively to the sound of her own voice.

"That is French, isn't it?" Marguerite nodded while she was taking a sip from her tea.

"The name yes. But I'm not from France." She answered. _At least I think I'm not,_ she thought afterwards.

Marguerite looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost half past six. Alasdair was already in bed. Suzanne had made them some tea and now they were sitting around the kitchen table drinking it.

"So where are you from?" Marguerite's uneasy feeling instantly returned, at the same time a wave of nausea overcame her.

"Excuse me." Was all she said, before she ran outside to empty her stomach.

**********

"Are you okay, my dear?" John had followed her. Marguerite was leaning against the wall gasping for breath. Her face was pale and she was trembling all over.

"It's better now. Fresh air helps a lot." She assured him, but there was still a worried expression on his face. He took her hand in his and they walked away from the house towards the village.

It was already dark, but once their eyes got used to the darkness it wasn't too hard to see something, because everything was bathed in moonlight.

They reached a hilltop from which they could have a view over the whole village. It wasn't very big, granted, but that made it even more beautiful. There was still light in some of the few houses. Marguerite started shivering, because it wasn't particularly warm and she didn't have a jacket. John put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer. She looked at him and smiled. For the first time in weeks it was a really contended smile.

"I'm so glad you're here with me." She said and their eyes met.

"I'm glad you let me be with you."

"John, listen, this isn't easy for me... . I've never been so..." She stopped for a moment, searching for the right words. 

"What I'm trying to tell you is, that I've never felt so secure and happy in my whole life than I do right now. I mean with you, Alasdair and her." She touched her belly.

"How do you know it's going to be a girl?" John asked in surprise.

"Trust me, a mother knows everything. But, John, you have to promise something to me."

"Anything." 

"Promise me that you'll never leave me."

"I promise."

They were just about to kiss each other, when Marguerite started shivering again. But this time it wasn't caused by the weather. It was more like the cold wind rushing through her, which she had felt before and then suddenly there was a void inside of her. John looked at her with obvious concern. She held him tight for fear of fainting.

"John, I think something is happening to the baby."

"What?! How do you know that?" He was really confused now. He didn't know whether he should be shocked, surprised, worried... but what he definitely was at that moment, was at a complete loss. Marguerite on the other hand knew exactly what to feel: Fear and anger. She wasn't sure what was happening and that scared her, but she was absolutely aware that it wasn't good and that made her angry. She couldn't do anything as if she was paralysed. And then just like that it was gone.

Marguerite took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

"It's better now." She said to John so he wouldn't worry too much. He just shook his head. 

"This is giving me the creeps."

**********

They stood there for a few more minutes. Not really knowing what to say when suddenly a strange feeling came over Marguerite again. But this time it was neither menacing nor scary. It felt like a great power, which had always been there, unleashing. Similar to the Sleeping Beauty awaking after a hundred years sleep. But it all happened within a few seconds.

"What was that?" Marguerite asked more out of surprise than out of curiosity.

"What was what?" John asked. But at the moment he did this the feeling lost its intensity. Marguerite shrugged.

"Probably nothing." She answered. But she instantly changed her mind, when she looked towards the village. Everything was shrouded in a dazzling white light. She couldn't make out the source of the light at first. But then she saw that it was coming from the standing stones that surrounded the village. They looked like fountains of light spreading brightness throughout the country. She tapped on John's shoulder.

"Do you see that?" She pointed her finger at the stones.

"That's the Stone Ring of Avebury. A megalithic monument. Probably the largest known stone ring in the world. But for me they were always just stones."

"No, there is much more to them. Can't you see the light?" Marguerite asked without turning her eyes away from the stones. 

"What are you talking about?" He starred into the darkness to see what she was referring to, but there was nothing. Marguerite didn't answer his question. Her look was focused on the stones and it seemed as if she didn't realize what was going on around her anymore. The light somehow drew her. She didn't know why but she felt that it was familiar and that -whatever was awaiting her behind this façade of light- could help her to find the answers to questions she had been trying to solve for years.

"I have to go down there." She whispered and started to go down the hill. John grasped her arm.

"Wait! Would you mind telling me what this is all about?" Marguerite didn't look at him.

"You wouldn't understand." Those words were worst Marguerite could possibly have chosen. John's worry mixed with anger, hurt and a lot of disappointment. He let go of her arm. Now that they'd finally reached a point where they could really trust each other and tell each other honestly about feelings and so on, her answer was like a slap right into his face.

"What?" He asked to make sure she really meant it. But she was already halfway down the hill. _That can't be her,_ he thought and followed her slowly.

**********

_"Why did you do that, Morrigan?"_

_"I'm sorry, Maggie, but there are some really dangerous things going on in this world. It's necessary that you learn about your destiny. Otherwise you can't save the ones you love."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Rhianne will tell you everything you need to know. And don't worry about your mate and your offspring. They are save, at least for now. But Dierdre will come back and she won't show mercy. That's why I have to go now."_

_"What do I have to do?"_

_"Just step into the stone circle, my dear. And don't be afraid."_

**********

Marguerite looked back to John. 

"I love you." She whispered before she stepped into the light.

End Chapter Ten...

This must be a bit confusing now. I hope you like it anyway. If you have questions concerning this or the other chapters feel free to ask. I have difficulties to see that some things might be difficult to understand, because I know the whole story. It's all in my head. And it could be that I forget telling something really important simply because I take it for granted. So please R&R

And as always:

Thanks to the people, who took the time to read this Chapter and special thanks to the ones, who left a review:

**pandagal:** Thanks for your review! Sorry that it took me so long to update, but I had a lot of things to do… And as I promised before, you'll get your hint whether it's a boy or a girl:)

**TheChosenOne3:** Hey! Thanks for the really long review. I'm glad you like the story, because what you think means a lot to me *hugs*…

**Alexpat1:** I think I'm going to continue it, because I cannot leave you hanging in the middle of the story. That would be evil, wouldn't it? Anyway a real big Thank you for your review!!! And I'm going to watch out for your story! 

**zeusfluff:** Thanks very much for the review. I didn't have the time to continue reading your story, because I was just so busy the last week. So sorry about that! But I'm going to do that soon…

**keys3303:** Well I didn't really want Roxton's mother to show up now, but she will, I promise! Thank you so much for your review. It means a lot to me…

**Angel LeeAnn:** So this was chapter 10. I'm sorry it took me so long to update. Anyway, THANK YOU so much for your review! I hope to read a new chapter of your story soon:)

**A.Windsor:** I wouldn't let anything happen to Aly, would I? :) Well thanks a lot for the review! I hope you also liked this chapter…

**Spirita**: Thanks a lot for liking and reviewing my story. And I'm trying to do better on the "Who-said-what"-issue. 

**Lexie:** Well I got the same problem: Don't know what to write! But thanks again for reading my story although your not a TLW- fan…


	11. Rhianne

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. It belongs to somebody else. I'm just writing down what my crazy mind makes up. 

**Chapter 11:** Rhianne

When Marguerite stepped into the light a pleasant feeling came over her. The warmth and the feeling of belonging was almost overwhelming. She closed her eyes for fear of going blind. But the light was so bright that her eyes didn't stop hurting after she did so. She tried shielding her eyes with her hand so she could at least see where she was stepping.

"Hello? Is there anybody here?" She called. The light started losing its intensity and Marguerite could finally open her eyes. She found herself in a strange white room. The room itself wasn't white it was the woman standing in the middle of it and filling it with a strange light. She had long, blonde, wavy hair and wore a simple though beautiful white dress. Her face looked as if it was made from porcelain. She was very fair-skinned, but she didn't look pale. Her eyes were a bright blue tone and her thin lips were a pale pink.

Marguerite held her breath. That was exactly the same woman she had been seeing. The woman smiled.

"Welcome back. We missed you." She said and her voice was so pure, so melodic that it was a pleasure listening to her no matter what she was saying. Marguerite didn't know how to react at first. She just stood there looking at the woman and not knowing what to think. The whole situation was asking too much of her.

"I can understand that you are confused and frightened, but you don't have to be." Marguerite sighed.

"I know. And there's a feeble voice inside of me telling me that I shouldn't be, but those feelings are there anyway." _Strange,_ she thought, _why is it so easy for me to trust her, to tell her everything._ It felt as if she was somehow related to that woman.

"I would probably feel the same if I were you. But you have to listen very carefully. What I tell you now is very important." The woman made two steps towards her.

"My name is, as you might already know, Rhianne. I'm a woman of Avalon. And I've been instructed to tell you about certain things you need to know, before you can fulfil your destiny." Rhianne went towards Marguerite and took her hand.

"Let us make a journey." She said and then there was a flash of light.

**********

Marguerite was surrounded by darkness, but she could still feel Rhianne's hand holding hers.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"This is the beginning of everything." Although there was nobody, who could see it, a look of confusion and puzzlement appeared on Marguerite's face.

"How is that possible?" Rhianne gave it a soft laugh.

"In Avalon everything is possible. But that is not the point right now. This is the time when everything started. Though you cannot see anything, the greatest battle that has ever been fought is just going on. Many people used refer to it as the Chaos, but we call it the Kaie, the fight between good and evil. There was a very powerful leader on each side. The leader of the evil was called Dierdre and the leader of the good people was called Morrigan." Now it was Marguerite's turn to laugh.

"Morrigan? You must be kidding me?"

"Not at all. But we should concentrate on the important things now. The battle would have been endless. Well, it could have been ended, but there would have been no one left to celebrate the victory. A tragic incident finally lead us to call all people to a meeting: Morrigan and Dierdre had died in a fight. The situation on each side was hopeless. The people came to the decision that there was no other possibility to end the terrible fighting than to find a neutral person. So we chose to revive the spirits and powers of Dierdre and Morrigan and unite them in one body. That's how The Chosen One was created. Her task was unique in the world of Avalon, the place where the good live, and Zereon, home of the evil. She was supposed to keep the peace and the only person, who was able to communicate with good and evil." When Rhianne stopped for a moment Marguerite sighed.

"That is interesting, but I can't see what this has to do with me and my destiny." Rhianne's face showed sadness and she closed her eyes for a moment.

"You have to be strong now, Marguerite. What I'm going to tell you is probably incomprehensible for you and it's also hard for me to tell it, because I'm not free from blame." She fell silent and Marguerite felt sorry for her. Suddenly she remembered some of her dreams, about the little girls and Rhianne just standing there watching without doing anything. 

"No, I'm not blameless at all." Rhianne repeated before she looked at Marguerite again and continued.

"You know about the Chosen One, don't you? That you were the Chosen One?" Marguerite felt uncertain about her choice of words. Why did Rhianne say that she had been the Chosen One, wasn't she still? She nodded anyway.

"It was not long ago, less than four decades, that Morrigan and Dierdre were separated. The leader of the evil, his name is Tuathal, decided to increase his influence. He found the chosen girl, who was still a baby and wanted to perform the ritual on her. You have to know that the performance of this ritual isn't easy and it took him a great deal of time to prepare it. Avalon knew about it all the time and did never do anything to stop him. There were too many advantages, too many things they would benefit from, if Morrigan had her own body. Perhaps you know already that this baby was you." Rhianne stopped so Marguerite had the chance to digest the new information. Marguerite just starred into the darkness.

"So the dreams I've been having were real?"

"Yes. I sent my memories to you. But we should return now. Close your eyes." Marguerite did as Rhianne told her. Only a few seconds later they were back in the white room and Marguerite was glad that she had closed her eyes, because the sudden change from darkness to light would have been very painful for them.

Rhianne took a deep breath and continued.

"But there are more things..." She hesitated, not sure how she could tell her.

"Your mother..." Marguerite's eyes widened.

"You know my mother?" She interrupted her. The sad look returned to Rhianne's face and Marguerite instantly knew that there was something wrong.

"I knew her, yes. Very well actually. Eleanor was my niece." Marguerite had to take a deep breath.

"Eleanor? That was my mother's name? What happened to her? And how can you be her aunt? I mean you don't look old enough to be my great-aunt? You look just as old as I am!" Rhianne nodded.

"Yes, I do. But I'm much older than you can imagine. I am one of the few enchantresses, who survived the Kaie. Morrigan was my master and a very close friend of mine. I had one sister her name was Aislinn. She possessed  incredible magical powers. They were even stronger than my own, but she died when she gave birth to her second child. That was your mother. You have to know that we cannot die from age and that we are able to heal most diseases, but even our powers have certain limits. I always blamed myself for her death, because I always thought that we could have done more to save her, but the truth is that she had lost too much blood and she was too weak. But Eleanor and Nevan, Aislinn's son, were just like her. Your mother had the same powers my sister once had. And she became a powerful enchantress. I think she was the most powerful one since Morrigan's death. But she fell in love with a mortal man. She chose to give away her powers to live her life together with him. You cannot take away the powers of a woman from Avalon, of course, but they were blocked so she couldn't use them any longer. It's too dangerous if you possess such powers in the world out there. After their marriage they had two children." Rhianne stopped talking, when she saw that tears were streaming down Marguerite's cheeks.

"I cannot believe it! I've been searching for these answers for all my life and now they are there just like that and I'm not sure if I really want to know about them." She sobbed. 

Rhianne looked down. She wasn't sure if it had been a good idea calling Marguerite. She had gone through a lot in the past and now that she had just begun to rely on people, to trust others and believe in herself someone burdened her with all these things. Rhianne felt so sorry for her and at the same time she blamed herself for being the one, who got her into that trouble in the first place.

"Listen, Marguerite, I know that this will be hard for you, but there are many lives at stake." Rhianne didn't dare to tell her yet, whose life was in particularly great danger. But she knew that it would be necessary to tell her.

When Rhianne could be certain that she got Marguerite's attention back she continued.

"As I said she had two children, two beautiful girls. The older one was called Sophia and her sister, who was six years younger, that was you." She pointed her finger at Marguerite.

"Sophia and you got the mortality from your father, but the magical powers from your mother. But their happiness didn't last very long. Your father, who was a soldier in the Royal Irish Regiment, was shot by a comrade during a shooting practice. It was a real tragedy. Even now nobody really knows how and why this happened. That was when your mother was still pregnant with you. When you were born she found out that there was something special about you. It frightened her, because she expected Tuathal, the new leader of the evil, to harm her child. Tuathal is feared, because of his brutality and ruthlessness, but he's far less powerful than he pretends to be. Eleanor turned to her brother, who was still living in Avalon. Nevan warned us and we noted it, but nobody did anything. But Eleanor was his sister and Nevan felt responsible for her, especially after her husband's death. And he decided to go back to her and support her. But when he reached the village in Ireland where she lived it was already to late. Tuathal had murdered half of the village's population and Eleanor, Sophia and you were gone. Tuathal and his men had brought you to a cave, where he had prepared everything for the ritual. I was there, too. I tried to prevent the worst, but somehow I knew I wouldn't be able to. I acted cowardly and I'm really ashamed of it." Marguerite stood there petrified saying nothing. There was no expression on her face, which could give information about her feelings in that moment.

"They separated Morrigan and Dierdre, who had been in your body and put Dierdre's spirit and powers in your sister's body, but Morrigan stayed inside of you. Tuathal and his men planned to kill you and your mother afterwards, but with Nevan's and my help you succeeded in escaping. Sophia's soul was too weak for Dierdre and she died instantly. Her body is not more than a shell Dierdre lives in. Sophia the little girl doesn't exist anymore. There is just Dierdre living in the body that once belonged to your sister." Marguerite still didn't move. There were too many questions haunting her mind, which wouldn't let her think properly.

"Your mother," Rhianne said, "Was stabbed to death when we tried to escape. We tried to bring her back to Avalon in time, but when we arrived there she was already dead. Nevan took care of you, but we knew from the start that you couldn't stay in Avalon. It was too dangerous for us and for you. Tuathal was aware of where you were. He would have come to kill you and with Dierdre and her powers it would have been very easy for him. It's true that Morrigan was still in you, but you were still a baby and what could a baby have done? Nevan brought you to an orphanage and tried to visit you as often as he could, but it was too dangerous. Tuathal already became suspicious. He would have found you, if Morrigan had been active in any way. I guess we were lucky that she did not even stir inside of you. She must have been aware of the dangerous situation." Marguerite felt anger rising in her and it was much more intense than the sadness she had felt before.

"You say I should consider myself lucky that I live when my whole family was slaughtered by a madman. I tell you what: You don't know what I lived through during my childhood, my youth... Sometimes I wished I had been dead. Where were you then?" Marguerite was now yelling at her.

"And where was this Nevan? Have you just called me here to mess up my life again now that I've finally found peace? What the hell do you want from me?" Rhianne took Marguerite's outburst with composure. She could understand it. And she knew that she couldn't conceal the facts any longer. So she said it forthright.

"You have to kill Dierdre." Marguerite tried to give it a scornful laugh, but she couldn't. Her mouth was too dry and her voice was merely a whisper when she spoke.

"You expect me to kill my sister? You expect me to repair the damage you've caused in the first place? I was not the one, who didn't try to stop Tuathal." Rhianne sighed.

"I knew you would say that. I'm sorry, but I guess you don't have a choice."

"What do you mean?"

"Dierdre must be defeated or your unborn daughter will die."

End Chapter Eleven...

Special thanks to:

**pandagal**: Thank you so much for your review. And I'm so sorry about taking so long again… Well anyway I hope you like the solution I found to this "Chosen One" issue…

**keys3303:** I hope the answers you found in this chapter are okay. And I hope you're not angry with me that it ends with a cliffhanger again. However thank you for your review it means a lot to me.

**A. Windsor:** Sorry, no Aly in this chapter. But he'll be back:) Thank you very much for your review

**Lexie**: I didn't really think about the end yet. At least not in detail. But after this chapter you should understand something, now. Yes and thanks for the name…

**Alexpat1:** Thank you for your review. I agree, so much can happen, even now that you already got some answers.

**Angel LeeAnn:** Thank you so very very much for the review. I'm honoured to get reviews from you! And I hope that this chapter helped at least a bit to get over the confusion…

**TheChosenOne3:** And last but not least (that's for sure): Thank you for reviewing! You always find the right words to encourage me. And as a countermove: I hope you liked YOUR chapter, because this one is for you :)


	12. Decisions

Disclaimer: I don't own them! Neither Marguerite, Roxton, Challenger nor Veronica, Finn and Malone. I don't own anything that has to do with TLW... But Aly, David, Rhianne, Tuathal and those are mine somehow.

**Chapter 12:** Decisions

Marguerite didn't know what to say. She had fixed Rhianne with such an angry stare as if trying to kill her by simply looking at her. What Rhianne had just said made her see red. When it came to her children she didn't stand for any nonsense.

Rhianne noticed that she had said the wrong thing and made a step towards Marguerite.

"Don't you come any closer!" Marguerite warned her and stepped backwards.

"I'm just trying to help you. I would never ever harm your baby." Rhianne answered. Somehow Marguerite knew that this woman did speak the truth, but she was still not sure what to do.

"Then why did you say my daughter is going to die?"

"Because she will, if you don't do anything." Rhianne said and a sign of relief could be heard in her voice. She was glad that Marguerite was at least listening to her.

"But who? Who would harm her?" Marguerite sounded desperate. Rhianne approached her again and this time Marguerite didn't shrink back.

"Your daughter and also your son, are something very special. They unite the powers of two of the most respected people of Avalon." Marguerite thought about that for a moment.

"Wait, you just said two of the most respected ones. One of them certainly is my mother or rather me, from what you've told me, but who's the other one?" Rhianne gave her a weak but friendly smile.

"That's another story. It has to do with your mate." Marguerite looked at her rather surprised than confused.

"John? Is he involved in this, too?"

"More than you think is. His father is the son of Conroy a very wise leader of Avalon."

"You're loosing me. You mean that he's somehow related to Avalon, too? Then why doesn't he have powers and what about my son?" Rhianne nodded.

"That's a legitimate question. But you have to know that no man can develop active powers. Only women are capable of doing that. But if they got certain characteristics from their parents they usually have strong passive powers and that's a mighty gift. It seems that your mate's and your powers were passed on to your children. But your son cannot use his powers. Both of them are very valuable nevertheless. Especially your unborn daughter."

"But why is she so valuable and for whom?" Marguerite asked impatiently. In her opinion Rhianne didn't answer her questions quickly enough.

"Dierdre is dying. The body that once belonged to your sister is weak and it's getting weaker with every day that passes by. She needs a female successor and she has chosen your daughter, because of her powers."

"But my daughter is not even born, yet. And you said for yourself that a baby can't do anything." Rhianne nodded.

"Yes, you're right. Not even Dierdre or Morrigan are able to control a baby's mind. It has to do with the fact that an infant's mind and awareness have yet to develop. But Dierdre still has the time to wait until your daughter is old enough. And if she succeeds everything will be lost. A new Kaie will start and this time the good will lose. But if you'll defeat her now that she's weak the world would be save." Marguerite sighed. She felt strange. On the one hand it made her feel so sad, angry and frightened that she was now obviously the one to prevent a catastrophe she hadn't caused, but on the other hand there was her daughter's life at stake.

Rhianne looked at her sympathetically. She felt so sorry for her and she knew that Marguerite still kept relatively calm. She would show all her emotions, if she realized what a great deal of influence all these new information had on her life. But until that time would come, Rhianne would try her best to cheer her up. She took some steps towards Marguerite until she was able to take her hand.

"I will show you something that will convince you that it's worth fighting." She said. She knew that Marguerite wouldn't and couldn't remember what Rhianne would show her now, but she was sure that she'd feel better afterwards.

**********

There was a flash of light and suddenly Marguerite found herself in a familiar room. It was the dining room of the Roxtons' house in Avebury, but it looked slightly different. She could see herself sitting at the table reading something. She was alone in the room.

"Where are we?" Marguerite asked. Rhianne smiled at her.

"In the future. About seven years from now. Time travelling is a very inaccurate business so you often have to guess." Marguerite shook her head.

"Isn't it dangerous to travel space and time? You could alter so many things if you for example talk to the wrong people at the wrong time." Rhianne nodded.

"Yes, but we're only spectators here." She didn't want to tell Marguerite that she would forget everything afterwards.

The door was flung open...

**********

_The door was flung open and a boy, who was about eight years old, entered the room. His little coat was covered with snow, so was the cap he wore._

_"Mummy! Mummy, guess what happened?!" The boy came up to table his mother was sitting at. Excitement made him jump up and down and the snow from his shoes was spread out on the floor._

_"Oh no, Alasdair. Suzanne had cleaned the floor this morning. Look what you've done!" The boy looked down at the mess he'd made._

_"I'm sorry, mummy. I'm going to wipe that away later, but now guess what happened!" The boy grinned._

_"I don't know." Marguerite said and closed her book._

_"Well guess!" Alasdair jumped again and even more snow fell to the ground._

_"You won at football?" She tried._

_"Yes!" The boy shouted. Then he took the cap from his head and shook it._

_"Alasdair! You're making it even worse!" The boy looked down again at the snow that had already begun melting. But it didn't seem as if he cared much about it._

_"There was Noah, Kieran and me against Andrew, Malcolm and Francis. And I shot two goals at least, mummy. I was there and Francis was right behind me..." He used his hands to illustrate the things he told her._

_"Where is Daddy?" He asked then. "I have to tell him that he has to watch out next time he plays football with me, I practised a lot."_

**********

Marguerite smiled at the scene she had just seen. She couldn't believe that Alasdair was already so big. But it was reassuring to know that she would finally find her peace. One thing made her a bit unsure though: She hadn't seen her daughter. Rhianne stood beside her observing the scene attentively.

"What about my daughter?" Marguerite finally asked. Rhianne turned to look at her.

"Patience, my dear."

**********

_"Alasdair, would you call Ella and Aidan? Dinner will be served in a few minutes." Marguerite said towards her son while she helped Suzanne to set the table._

_Alasdair nodded._

_"I think they are in the backyard." Suzanne added._

_It was not much later that two small figures stood in the doorframe covered with snow from top to toe. One of the figures was giggling. Marguerite turned and held her breath._

_"My god! What the..." She stopped as she remembered whom she was talking to. "What have you two been doing?"_

_"Aidan started it!" The taller figure said and pointed at the smaller one. Marguerite shook her head and smiled at the two 'snowmen'._

_**********_

_It was almost half an hour later that they could start eating. Ella and Aidan had to take a bath so they wouldn't get a cold.  Ella's long and wavy hair was still wet and her green eyes were sparkling as if they were emeralds. Aidan was the only one in the family that didn't have dark hair and green eyes. The three year-old had short and curly blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked a lot like John's older brother William except for the curls of course._

_"John! Are you coming?" Marguerite shouted._

_"Almost there, my dear." His voice could be heard from the other room. He entered the room while he was still speaking._

_"Finally, Daddy!" Alasdair moaned. "I'm starving!" John sat down at the table and looked at his wife._

_"Ned has just phoned me. David and Eve have a little sister now. Veronica gave birth to a little girl. Her name is Julia."_

_**********_

Everything went black. And there was only Rhianne standing next to her.

"What happened?" Marguerite asked.

"It's about time..." 

"Time for what?"

"I'm going to leave you, now. But I'll be back. Meet me here in three days from now." And with that she disappeared.

Marguerite didn't know what to do at first. She stood there in the room still wondering what had just happened to her. And suddenly everything hit her with such a force that she just couldn't help it, she just had to cry. It was getting colder and colder and then she could see the moon again. She was out of the stone circle.

**********

John still couldn't believe what he had seen. There had been a flash of light and suddenly just like that Marguerite had been gone. He had called her, but there had been no answer. He had been searching the whole area that surrounded the stone circle for her, but there had been no sign of her. She had just disappeared. Where was she? And was she in danger?

He wondered whether there had been anything he could have done to prevent what had happened.

"Marguerite!" He called again. And although his common sense told him that there was no way to find somebody, whom the earth had literally swallowed up his heart would never give up on her. Slowly he walked back to the place where he had seen her for the last time. He stopped from time to time to make sure he didn't miss a thing.

Suddenly he heard somebody weeping._ Marguerite! _He thought at once and started to run. If somebody had harmed her in any way, he swore he would kill the one, who had dared to do that.

He found her lying on the ground, only a few yards from where she had disappeared earlier. Her face was buried in her hands and her whole body was shaking.

John fell on his knees next to her and took her hands, which were as cold as ice, so he could look into her eyes. The silvery light of the moon allowed him to see that she must have cried a lot. She looked at him and as if she wanted to say something, but new streams of tears began to run down her cheeks.

"My god." He whispered and took her in his arms. Marguerite wrapped her arms around him and lay her head against his shoulder. 

"John," she sobbed, "I'm so glad you're with me." John pressed his cheek against her head while he stroked her hair.

"Shh! It's okay." He paused to give her a chance to calm down. 

"Would you mind telling me what happened?" He asked then. Marguerite shook her head.

"It's Dierdre. She wants to kill our girl." Her fingers held his upper arm in a firm clutch while she turned her head. John felt her tears dripping on his left shoulder.

"Who wants to kill our girl?" He didn't get an answer, because an indescribable feeling of anger seized her. She tried to stand up.

"I'm going to kill that bitch." Her voice echoed in the darkness. She sunk to the ground again, but John caught her.

"Easy now! Easy, my dear!" He said. But there was obviously no way to calm her down, now.

"That bloody minx! She will pay for what she has done to my sister and my mother and for what she plans to do." A new wave of tears hit her.

Although John was really curious now what this was all about, he tried to keep quiet. He stood up from the cold ground and took her in his arms.

"Come on, we better bring you home now."

End Chapter Twelve...

So that was chapter 12. I hope you liked it, so please review. 

It could take some time now, before I update the next time. I'm going to be a little busy the next four weeks, but I'll give my best so you don't have to wait too long…

And special thanks to everyone, who reviewed of course! I'm sorry that I don't have the time to name everybody now, but you know who you are. *hugs*, *****kisses*** **and best wishes to everyone of you! Love ya! And have a wonderful weekend (as long as it lasts:)


	13. Power of a mind

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1...  
  
Chapter 13: Power of a mind  
  
Marguerite had trouble sleeping that night. John had brought her home, had undressed her and put her to bed. He had made tea, looked after Alasdair, who had had a bad dream and washed the tears off her face. Later he lay down next to her taking her in his arms.  
  
"Do you feel better now?" He asked. Marguerite sighed.  
  
"A bit. But..." She stopped to make sure she wouldn't start to cry again.  
  
"Shh. Try to get some sleep." He closed his eyes again.  
  
"I can't. All these pictures come up again whenever I close my eyes." He looked at her, although the dim light of the moon, which filled the room, didn't give him the chance to see much.  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked carefully; not sure whether this was a good idea.  
  
"I..." She hesitated. "I'm not sure." John pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead.  
  
"You don't have to, but perhaps it'll make you feel better." A smile appeared on her face, but it faded away as quickly as it had come. She wrapped her arms around his body.  
  
"Thank you for being with me. You cannot imagine what this means to me." And then she told him everything she had heard from Rhianne.  
  
When she had finished talking, John was left speechless. "You had a sister?" "My grandfather was what?" and "Where is this Dierdre now?" were just three of thousands of questions spinning around in his head.  
  
"John?" Marguerite whispered so she could be certain that he was okay. He looked her directly into the eyes.  
  
"We have to stop her!" He said with determination. Marguerite on the other hand looked rather helpless.  
  
"I agree, but how should we do that?" She asked.  
  
"I don't know, yet, but I won't let anything happen to you." He held her closer and touched her belly carefully. She gasped.  
  
"What is it?" Was his question.  
  
"I don't know. I thought I felt the baby, but that must been my imagination. It usually takes another month before I can feel it." John smiled at her.  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. This is a very special girl."  
  
"Yes, she is." Marguerite replied in a thoughtful tone.

....................

"Mummy! Da'y!"  
  
Marguerite yawned and turned around still half asleep.  
  
"John, don't you want to attend to your son?" She reached out for the right side of the bed without opening her eyes. She heard John stir beside her.  
  
"Alright I'm going." The wooden floor creaked and squeaked as he left the room. Marguerite pulled the covers up over her head again and tried to sleep.  
  
"Marguerite?" An unknown voice inside of her asked. Marguerite opened her eyes to make sure that her mind didn't try to fool her. But there was no one there.  
  
"Marguerite?" The voice asked again. And this time Marguerite instantly knew who it was. But she guessed that it was Morrigan, who knew it.  
  
"Dierdre!" She said aloud although she was convinced that no one except for her could hear Dierdre. So one could think that she was talking to herself.  
  
"It seems that Morrigan still remembers, who I am." The voice was very clear, but it sounded as if it was somehow carried by the wind, like a whisper.  
  
"How could she forget? How could I forget you?" Marguerite asked in an angry tone. How could this, whatever it was, dare to come so close to her? Marguerite hadn't thought that the danger was so imminent. And that Dierdre talked to her scared her like hell.  
  
But this time there was no answer. Marguerite looked around to convince herself that Dierdre was gone. She knew that it was stupid to look out for an invisible being, but she had got used to taking a look around during her life on the Plateau and it made her feel better.  
  
"Maggie, I don't like to disturb you, but I cannot fight her off for much longer." Another voice inside of her said. But this time it felt different: It was more as if a part of her was talking. Marguerite knew that this was Morrigan.  
  
"You have to meet Rhianne as soon as possible." At that moment John came back with Alasdair in his arms.  
  
"What's going on?" His eyes wandered through the room and when he couldn't find anything abnormal he looked at Marguerite.  
  
"I thought you were talking to somebody." She shrugged.  
  
"I wasn't. You must have imagined it." She had a bad conscience for lying to him, but she didn't want to trouble him with the supernatural things that sounded just too weird. It was clear that John had the right to hear of all the things concerning his daughter, but Marguerite wanted to have just one single day, on which she wouldn't have to worry. But in the back of her mind she knew that she didn't want to tell John about it yet, because she didn't like him to see her so afraid. That made her feel vulnerable and gave her a feeling of not being able to stand on her own two feet.  
  
John looked deep into her eyes and she instantly knew that she was caught.  
  
"Why do you keep on doing that?" He asked obviously hurt. Marguerite looked away. She couldn't stand looking him into the eyes now. John put Alasdair to the ground. The little boy watched his dad approaching his mother, but he didn't move.  
  
"Marguerite, look at me!" He sat down next to her, touched her chin and turned her head slightly so he could look directly into her face. She was silent.  
  
"Why do you keep hiding the truth from me? Don't you trust me?" Marguerite knew she had to say something now, because if she wouldn't answer this important question it would break his heart.  
  
"Yes, I do..." She started, but then she paused not knowing how to continue. "I really trust you, but it has all been so much. I didn't want to bother you with some fantasies."  
  
"But Marguerite, you yourself said you were in this stone circle and that this Rhianne told you things about your background and about our daughter being in danger. And I believe you, so why shouldn't I believe what has happened to you now?" She shrugged and took a deep breath.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"I just want to help you. So please don't shut me out. You and the children mean everything to me and I couldn't stand to lose you. I love you." Marguerite was left speechless. She knew that he felt that way about her, but it touched her everytime he said it.  
  
"I'm afraid..." She finally admitted.

....................

It was at lunchtime that Dierdre came back again. Suzanne had set the table and they were just about to eat when Marguerite started shivering. This time even John noticed the temperature of the room dropping.  
  
"She's here." Marguerite whispered and looked directly into John's eyes. He in return starred at her and then slowly turned his head to scan the room. Naturally he didn't find anything, which didn't belong here.  
  
"Can you sense where she is?" John asked while his look was still roaming around the dining room. Marguerite shook her head.  
  
"No, but she's very close." At that moment Suzanne came through the door. She was carrying a bowl with steaming contents. John held up his hand and Suzanne stopped right where she was standing. She glanced from John over to Marguerite, who had closed her eyes, in confusion.  
  
Marguerite tried to concentrate, but Alasdair's jabbering didn't make that easy at all. Suddenly the boy fell silent and at the same moment Marguerite opened her eyes.  
  
"She's doing something to Alasdair!" She almost screamed. The little boy starred into the emptiness in front of him and he didn't move, which was absolutely not like the rather lively toddler.  
  
Marguerite jumped to her feet and reached for her son, who was sitting right next to her. Within seconds John was at her side.  
  
"Aly? Little one?" He shouted, but there was no reaction. Suzanne stood there with wide eyes, gaping. The bowl she had been carrying fell to the ground with a loud crash. Marguerite pressed the little child to her breast.  
  
"Aly, come back to us..." She pleaded. And as if somebody had heard the pleas of the desperate mother the boy suddenly stirred. He began to cry. Marguerite sighed in relief as she started to sway him gently.  
  
"She's gone." She said looking at John. He closed his eyes saying a quick prayer, a thing he hadn't done in a long time.  
  
"That was enough!" He said then. "I'm going to phone Challenger."  
  
Although Marguerite would have protested, if circumstances had been normal, she didn't say anything when John went to call Challenger. Usually she didn't like it when too many people were aware of her unwell- being, but this time she had realized that it was not just about her, but also about Alasdair, John and their unborn daughter. The incident with Alasdair had frightened the hell out of her, but it had also opened her eyes. She didn't want to risk the lives of the ones she loved just because she was too arrogant and too damn proud to admit that there was something wrong or to ask for help. And if anyone could help her out of that miserable situation it was Challenger.  
  
"Mummy?" The little boy, who was now sitting on her lap, asked. Marguerite looked down to her son. His eyes and cheeks were still red from all the tears he had shed.  
  
"Mummy!" Alasdair repeated, but this time it wasn't a question. It was more like noticing with relief that his mum was there.  
  
"Yes, mummy is here." She stroked his short, brown hair.  
  
"You'll see everything is going to be fine." Marguerite said and she fervently hoped that she was right.  
  
End Chapter Thirteen... 


	14. Call for help

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1...blablabla

**Chapter 14:** Call for help

It was about 8 o'clock in the evening that somebody rang at the door of the Roxtons' house in Avebury.

John was sitting on the sofa in livingroom at that moment. He noticed that the bell had rung, but he was too preoccupied to give it another thought. Marguerite had already put Alasdair to bed and then had gone to sleep herself. She had had a hard day and because of the exhaustion she had had trouble to keep her eyes open. That's why she had gone to bed so early.

John on the other hand couldn't sleep. He thought about what had happened that day: The incident with Alasdair and Marguerite talking to Dierdre... All this sounded too weird to be true. But he believed what Marguerite had told him and he had seen what had happened to Alasdair with his own eyes. It had made him feel so helpless and most of all useless. He was not able to protect Marguerite or their children from that evil.

Someone knocked. John looked up. It was George Challenger standing in the doorframe.

"Good to see you, ol' boy." Challenger said, entering the room. "I wish it was under different circumstances." John stood up to greet his friend and nodded.

"Yes. Thanks that you've come."

"When I heard that there was something wrong with Marguerite? What did you think me to do? I took the next train from Kensington, London to Pewsey, Wiltshire¹ and from there a young man was kind enough to bring me here. I came as fast as I could..."

**(Author's note) ¹ = It has to be that complicated, because as far as I know is there no railway station in Avebury. Especially eighty years ago…**

"I know." John quickly said while Challenger looked around.

"Where is she?" He asked.

"She has already gone to bed. I can't blame her for that. The last two days have been pretty hard for her, no wonder she was tired." John sat down again and invited Challenger with a gesture to do the same. He accepted and took a seat next to John.

"So what exactly has happened?"

"If only I knew..." John sighed.

................................................................................................................................................

"My god! That must have been a real shock for her..." George whispered to himself, when John had finished telling what he knew.

"And for you..." He added turning to John.

"Don't worry about me, George. It's Marguerite, Alasdair and our daughter, who need your help." Challenger raised an eyebrow.

"Your daughter? So you know you're going to have a daughter? How?" John shrugged.

"Don't ask me..."

................................................................................................................................................

The two men spent half of the night discussing. There were only some glowing chips of wood left from the fire, which had been crackling in the hearth.

"John, I have to be honest," Challenger finally started with a sigh. "I don't have a clue how to help Marguerite. I'm so sorry."

John shook his head.

"There must be a way." John replied with determination. He just couldn't accept the fact that there was no way for to him help her. Challenger put his hand on John's shoulder as a silent gesture of understanding.

"And I'm sure there is one, but…" George started an attempt to cheer him up, but as soon as the words were out he realized how hollow and meaningless they sounded. There was no way cheering a man up, who was sick with worry about the condition of his beloved, apart from telling him a solution to make things better again. And he had none. Unless…

"Perhaps we should go to that stone circle again and have a look at the place where she'd disappeared. Maybe we'll find something that'll give us a hint what is wrong with her. But we won't see anything now that it's dark. We should wait until tomorrow." He suggested.

"Maybe it's too late if we postpone this until tomorrow. I don't want to risk Dierdre coming back again and doing something to Aly, the baby or Marguerite. She certainly has the power to kill one of them. We must go now, George." Although Challenger knew that it was most likely there wouldn't be anything they would find in the dark, he kept his opinion to himself.

"Alright. We'll go now." He said instead.

They were standing in the hall just about to go, when they heard a voice from behind.

"John, is that you?" It was Marguerite, who just came down the stairs with Alasdair in her arms. The two men turned and Challenger, who had already opened the frontdoor, closed it again.

Marguerite still looked a bit drowsy. Her eyes were no more than slits and her hair was a bit wild.

"George! You've already arrived here?" She said in surprise when she had become aware of Challenger's presence.

"Yes, I came as fast as I could." Marguerite didn't pay much attention to George's answer, because she had noticed that the men were wearing jackets.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Just going to check something." John quickly answered, before George could say anything. "But why are you up? You should get some rest."

"Your son… I awoke, because Alasdair was crying. I guess he'd had a nightmare." She often referred to Alasdair as "his" son when she was annoyed or tired.

"Is that true, little one?" Alasdair just turned his head and rubbed his eyes with his tiny fist.

"He's tired, John. Not the best mood to have small talk with his dad. But what exactly are you planning to check on?" She asked although she knew very well that John was not willing to tell her.

"Nothing important. Just go back to bed and sleep." He said a bit more harsh than intended. Almost immediately he regretted what he had said, because she hated being ordered around and he was well aware of that fact. But she didn't seem to be angry with him. On the contrary, worry was now showing on her face.

"You're going back there, aren't you?" John said nothing, but the glance he cast at her told her everything. She shook her head.

"John, I…" She started, but he interrupted.

"Marguerite, I don't expect you to understand this. It's…" This time it was Challenger, who stopped John from finishing his sentence, when he noticed into which direction the conversation between the two was heading.

"I better put Alasdair back into his bed." He said carefully and wanted to take the little boy from Marguerite. But she backed away.

"Not necessary, George. If John plans to go back to this stone circle, I'm coming with him and so does Aly." She said in a tone that didn't allow any protest. John wanted to say something, but he knew that he had no choice, but to take her with him. He knew how stubborn she could be.

................................................................................................................................................

"Marguerite, I don't expect you to understand this. It's…" Marguerite heard John say. There was a short silence before George suggested putting Alasdair back to bed, but it was enough for Marguerite to perceive the low voice inside of her.

_"Morrigan?"_

_"Yes, my dear. It's just me."_

_"Are we in danger?"_

_"No, not yet, but you have to follow your mate now. It's absolutely necessary that you come to Avalon as soon as possible."_

_"But I don't know how to get there!"_

_"Just follow your instinct."_

_"What about Alasdair, our son?"_

_"Take him with you. He'll be save in Avalon. The same goes for the wise one. Our leader will be pleased to meet him. We are all waiting for you. Hurry!" Then there was silence._

_"Morrigan?" Marguerite asked once again, but there was no answer._

"I better put Alasdair back into his bed." George's voice called her back to reality. He wanted to take the little boy from he, but she backed away.

"Not necessary, George. If John plans to go back to this stone circle, I'm coming with him and so does Aly." She said with determination.

................................................................................................................................................

John didn't like the thought of Marguerite and Alasdair accompanying them. What if she would disappear once again? He felt so miserable when he knew there was nothing he could do to prevent a coming danger. He looked at her. She was holding Alasdair tight to her body to make sure he wouldn't get cold. The sleeping form of the little boy was wrapped in a woollen blanket, because there was an icy wind racing over the open fields. He could see that she was shivering with cold.

"There are times when I really miss the Plateau…" She said to him in an ironical way. John knew that she was just trying to distract him from his worries. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Better?" He asked.

"A bit." George, who had been leading the way turned around and looked at the couple.

"Where exactly is it, now? I mean, the whole village is surrounded by an enormous stone circle…" Marguerite nodded although she wasn't sure whether George could see that in the dark.

"It is the stone circle surrounding the village. Over there!" She pointed at the stones straight ahead.

................................................................................................................................................

It took them only a few more minutes before they finally stood in front of the standing stones, which were rising into the nightsky. Some of them were at least ten feet high.

John's eyes rested on Marguerite. He knew that she was seeing something that he couldn't. She was starring at the stone circle with fascination and fear at the same time. To his amazement he suddenly felt her hand searching for his. He squeezed it gently.

"It's there again. The light…" She whispered so George wouldn't hear it.

Their eyes met and somehow each of them knew how the other one felt. It was a very intense moment of complete understanding.

Marguerite was sure that she had never felt anything like this. She had seen the glowing and shining arising from the stones and all the memories from the last time she had been standing here. It had frightened her. If anything like this would happen again? She wasn't sure if she could stand losing even more members of her family. The best thing to do would be running away like she had always done. If a situation had gotten too precarious she had run away. Why bother about anyone else? They could take care of themselves, couldn't they? But now there was John, Aly and their daughter and the only one who could save them was she herself. There had never been anyone she had been responsible for, but now it was different. Those people she called family and friends, they trusted her and being with those people had brought her peace for the first time in her life. There was something she owed them.

And the look she had exchanged with John had shown her all that. She had been searching for support in his green eyes and she had found it. Now there was no more fear. She was determine to save the ones she loved. No matter what would happen to her.

And with that thought she stepped into the light once again…

End Chapter Fourteen…

Author's note: So here we go again! I hope you enjoyed it. It took me so long, because we had a lot of work to do in school (I had to write a report as a substitute for an exam) and we moved not long ago. My parents had this wonderful idea of building a new house. And so I was offline…

We got summer holidays at the moment and I planned to finish this story in the coming weeks. If I'll succeed??? Place your bets:) I don't think so, because there's such lovely weather…

Anyway thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and to those who added me to their favourite list! You are pals (Sorry for that, but we read "Death of a salesman" just lately)!


	15. The Calm before the Storm

Disclaimer: See first Chapter and some following...

**Chapter 15: **The Calm before the Storm

When she stepped out of the light she instantly knew that it would be different this time. There was no blinding light this time. She could hear birds and the foaming shore. And her hand – she immediately noticed that – was still lying in the gentle grip of John's. With the other one she held their son tight. It took some time before she became aware of her surroundings.

She turned to make sure that everyone else was fine. Then she let her eyes wander over the scenery. It looked a lot like the place they had just left. You could find many places like that in Southern England. A hilly countryside with lush green meadows on which the sheep could feed and thick clouds, which didn't allow the sun to break through. But if they did the country was bathed in a pale and mysterious light that made everything seem so unreal, but wonderful.

And though this place looked like one of many on the British Isle Marguerite knew that there was something special about it. It was just a feeling, but somehow she sensed a certain energy linked to it. It felt very familiar to a part of her; like home...

"Welcome to the holy island of Avalon." Marguerite heard a voice she already knew too well from behind her.

"We were expecting you." Without turning Marguerite knew that it was Rhianne standing behind them. Her fair hair was swirling in the wind and she had opened her arms as if to embrace them.

Marguerite was surprised that she looked even more beautiful in reality than she had in her visions. She was the complete opposite to Marguerite. Not only that that her hair was a light blonde, but she looked very light in general. On first sight you wouldn't believe that she was related to Marguerite in any way.

Marguerite's heart was beating faster than usual and a strange feel of uncertainty crept over her. _Now it has begun and there is no way back for you_, she thought.

And as if Rhianne had sensed her doubts she gave her a reassuring smile.

"Now follow me, my friends. There is someone who's waiting for you."

........................................

George, Marguerite, John and Alasdair who was now alternating between walking at his father's hand and being carried by him were led over a small sandy path which was winding its way through the hills.

When they reached a valley they could make out an accumulation of simple wooden huts. They path was a bit wider now and lined by apple trees some blossoming, some even bearing fruits. George instantly noticed the contradiction.

"Blossoming and bearing fruits at the same time?" Challenger asked in surprise. "That's a most incredible thing. Miss Rhianne, is there an explanation to it?" Rhianne smiled.

"You are in Avalon, Professor. It's the realm of fairies and enchantresses, the centre of white magic, the place from which we watch over life... there doesn't have to be a logical explanation. It's magic." And that was the one and only time in George Challenger's life that he was left speechless. Marguerite and John exchanged a grin.

........................................

"I didn't expect Avalon to look that... simple." John said while they followed Rhianne through the little village.

"Well, I didn't expect Avalon to exist at all." He corrected himself. Rhianne had told them that she would lead them right to the council, which consisted of the wisest inhabitants of Avalon. There, so she said, was someone waiting for them.

"Little one, stay here." John called his son, who ran far ahead of them. When the boy heard his father's calling that was obviously meant for his ears, he slowly turned as if he was already thinking of the suitable answer.

"Come back here." He heard him say once again.

"No." Alasdair answered and grinned mischievously before he turned and ran even farther away. John sighed and cast Marguerite an imploring look, an obvious plea for support.

"Well, don't look at me! This definitely is something he has from you. Always the adventurer..." She replied with feigned sympathy.

"We are finally there." Rhianne explained and pointed at a building that, on the contrary to the huts, was made from stone. There were certain parallels to a medieval church, but it was far less pompous. "This is were the council meets."

"Aly!" Marguerite called her son. "Come back here! We have to go this way!" The boy stopped instantly and turned around.

"Mummy!" He called back and ran towards them as fast as his little legs allowed him to. John sighed and shook his head. Marguerite on the other hand couldn't help smiling.

..........................................

The council consisted of 10 people, sitting on the ground in a circle. On a little platform there was another man with a long white beard. Rhianne sat down next to the others sitting in the circle.

"Meet Conroy, our wise leader." She said.

"Fàilte, caileag. Ciamar a tha thu?" Conroy almost whispered the words and nodded into her direction inviting her to take a seat. Marguerite instantly recognized the language the man had addressed her with, as Gaelic. He had greeted her and asked how she was.

"Chan eil dona, tapadh leibh. Agus ciamar a tha sibh fhéin?" She answered while sitting down. Conroy smiled at her.

"So I see you still speak the old language?" His question was rather rhetorical.

"It was useful to learn some Gaelic, while I was studying in Scotland." John sat down next to her grasping Alasdair's arm so he would not run away once more. The little boy protested.

"Da'y, no!" He moaned. Then suddenly he fell silent and at first John thought Dierdre had come back again. But just then the boy started smiling.

"Is 'ronita! 'ronita an' Ned!" He exclaimed. John looked around and exchanged a puzzled look with Marguerite.

The eyes of all the other council members also became fixed on the little one.

"No, Veronica is not here, little laddie, and neither is Ned." Marguerite quickly explained to her son, starting to feel uneasy because of the many glances.

"Yes, Mummy, is 'ronita an' Ned!" Alasdair said again, but this time with more determination. At least he seemed to be convinced by what he was saying. Conroy rose from his seat and scrutinized first Alasdair and then his parents with his intense looks.

"Bring the little one to me!" He then ordered. John hesitated for a moment, not sure whether to trust this man. But then again he was family, wasn't he? Marguerite had told him that he was his grandfather.

He led the boy to the front of the platform while Conroy stepped down to take a closer look at the boy.

"Alasdair..." Conroy said more to himself than to anyone else.

"That's quite a suitable name." He continued. Then he turned to look at the other council members again and addressed them in a loud tone.

"It seems as if we underestimated the powers of this little boy. The unity of Marguerite, who once was the Chosen One to every living being and still is to our people, and John, my grandson, seems to bring forth much more powerful children than what we did expect. We will have to act even more quickly before the enemy gets to know about this." Marguerite shook her head.

"Stop! You're losing me! What the hell are you talking about? What about our son?" Rhianne stood up and placed a hand on Marguerite's arm, as a sign for her to calm down. But Marguerite didn't care whoever stood in front of her. She just didn't like people talking in riddles especially when it came to her children.

"You will understand... Bring in our other guests!" Conroy said towards one of the council members.

When the doors opened and the other guests entered Marguerite held her breath. It was Ned and Veronica with little David.

"'ronita!" Alasdair exclaimed in joy. Marguerite and John didn't even have the time to greet their friend in an appropriate way, because Conroy spoke again.

"So you see! Your son has the gift to see..." Marguerite simply had to laugh at that.

"Oh please, this could have been mere coincidence. I mean he couldn't probably have known they were here or he has seen them before we entered this hut..." Marguerite tried to dismiss Conroy's suggestion, because it frightened her, but at the bottom of her heart she already knew that he was correct.

"I mean, there are thousand of different reasonable solutions to this and none of them suggests that my son has somewhat supernatural powers. He hasn't, he just hasn't!" She couldn't stand thinking that he had certain powers. That would make his life even more complicated and she wanted him to lead a normal life. She also feared that the danger that was already so enormous for her and their daughter, would also affect Alasdair to a greater extent now.

"I'm sorry for you, Marguerite, but you can't just ignore the facts at hand." Rhianne said.

"Perhaps our guests should get some sleep now. We should delay this meeting until tomorrow morning. You can go now." Conroy interrupted and with that everybody left the room.

.....................................

They had been given three simple, but comfortable rooms. One for Marguerite, Roxton and Aly, one for George and the other for Ned, Veronica and David.

After having eaten something the three men had decided to go for a walk with the boys, leaving the two women alone in the village.

And as Marguerite had anticipated it didn't take long before somebody knocked at her door.

"Come!" she called. She knew exactly whom to expect behind the doors.

"Veronica! Come in!" She said when she saw that her anticipation had been correct. Veronica gave her a warm smile.

"I thought you might like to talk. You've been through a lot."

"Actually I don't. I can't change anything now, can I? What good does talking do then?" Veronica sat down next to her on the bed.

"Have you heard anything of Finn?" Marguerite tried to change the subject.

"Sure. She's staying with Jessie, Challenger's wife. Still learning how to behave in the English society. She obviously is a lousy student." Marguerite had to smile at Veronica's attempt to cheer her up. Suddenly Veronica's turned very serious.

"You have to go over there, haven't you? I mean, to this dark place called Zereon." Marguerite nodded.

"It seems there isn't any other possibility. I..." Marguerite's voice trembled.

"I just hope Aly and John are going to be safe afterwards. And the rest of you of course. I don't see there's a chance for me and our girl to possibly live through this though." Veronica saw that Marguerite had problems maintaining her composure.

"Don't say that!" The blonde woman said.

"I'm not going to fool myself." Marguerite hesitated for a moment.

"Tough John would never let me go on my own." She continued then.

"No, he wouldn't and he's probably right when it comes to that."

"What do you mean? I'd never take him with me! What if something happened to both of us? What about Alasdair then? I don't want him to grow up the way I did."

"Don't worry, I'm going with you." Marguerite's eyes grew wide.

"No! No, you won't. This is something I have to do on my own. Think about David! He needs his mother."

"And so does Alasdair!" Veronica snapped, sounding a bit harsher than intended. But she calmed down quickly.

"Look, Marguerite, if we go together the chance that we'll succeed is much higher. So we'll probably both live through it." She forced a smile.

"I appreciate your offer, Veronica, I really do, but I couldn't stand seeing you suffer. I was the one, who caused all this trouble, so I should be the one to end it." Veronica shook her head at that.

"You are not the one to blame for this. You never were. Marguerite, if I hadn't considered all the dangers we might face and even the possibility that I might survive this, I wouldn't have offered to go with you. And now stop being so damn stubborn and accept the help of a friend." A single tar streamed down Marguerite's cheek.

"Thank you so much. I'm so glad you're with me..." She said and gave Veronica a hug.

"What are friend's there for? But we better don't hesitate too long now. When the men find out about that..."

"I'll talk to the council." Marguerite assured her while she wiped the tear off her cheek.

.........................................

When Marguerite was lying in the bed that evening she just couldn't get rid of the thoughts troubling her mind. She probably wouldn't have another night lying next to the people she loved most. According to the council she would be prepared to leave just the other day. It was strange; she didn't know anything about the place she was supposed to go to. She didn't know anything about Dierdre, still in the body of her sister. And the thing that made her most anxious was that she had no clue on how to fight Dierdre. The council members had told her that she would know everything when it was time to know. But what did it matter anyway: Either way she was dead.

Alasdair and John! She would never see them again. And what about their daughter. She would never get to know her; she sentenced her to death. That was so unfair...

That made her weep silently. She didn't know another time in which she had cried so much apart from her childhood of course. But she had always thought that she had gotten over that sentimentality.

"Marguerite, are you alright?" The sudden sound of John's voice gave Marguerite a start. She hadn't thought him to be still awake.

"Yes, I'm fine." She quickly lied.

"That doesn't really sound like you are..." Marguerite sighed. They were far beyond lying to each other. They knew each other too well.

"Could you promise me one thing?" She asked instead of giving him a concrete answer on what was wrong with her.

"Anything you want." She heard him say so unquestioning that it almost made her cry again.

"If anything ever happens to me, will you take good care of Aly?"

"Don't say that! Nothing's going to happen to you."

"John, I think we have to be realistic about that..." She couldn't say any more, because she feared that her voice would break.

"Of course I will take good care of Aly. He's my son, remember? I will guard him as a treasure!" And he meant it. There was a long time of silence between the two of them until John finally whispered.

"I know this is probably not the right time to tell you that, but otherwise I might never get to say that. I think you're the best thing that ever happened to me. You made me see things I couldn't see before, you made me feel things I never felt before and to be honest I never thought that those feelings were possible. I really love you Marguerite..." Marguerite snuggled up to him and he put his arm around her.

"There's something I always wanted to do from the moment we first met each other." He couldn't suppress his smile.

"And that would be?" Marguerite asked.

"When all this is over: Would you marry me?" This question took Marguerite completely off guard and she was happy that it was relatively dark in the room. There were thousands of thoughts racing through her head at that moment. But after all they'd been through, after all the trouble they had faced, it was the first thing that seemed right. And it was a thing that would give her strength to eventually survive all this and return home in one piece.

"I....I guess so." Was as she could think of at that moment. And that was when he kissed her. When they finally broke the kiss she added:

"Yes, I will..."

End Chapter 15... 

Author's note: I'm so sorry that updating keeps on taking longer and longer, but I have to study a lot and I've been to Italy for a week... So lots of excuses, but not a real reason actually. I hope you can forgive me. So this chapter is a bit longer than the one's before.

I hope you enjoyed it...

And of course thanks to my loyal reviewers... I certainly all let you down by not updating sooner. So a really HUGE SORRY goes out to you!!! I hope you keep on reading and reviewing anyway...


	16. Without a trace

Disclaimer: See the Chapters before

**Chapter 16: Without a trace**

When John awoke the next morning the sun was shining through the open window. A soft breeze was blowing through the room swaying the curtains. He blinked and turned around. His right arm reached for the other half of the bed where Marguerite was supposed to lie. He stopped short when he couldn't find her there.

"Marguerite?" He asked while he opened his eyes. Marguerite usually wasn't awake before he was so he didn't really expect an answer. But he didn't expect what he saw when his eyes were opened either: Marguerite wasn't there.

He wasn't sure what to make of that at first. There where thousands of possible explanations where she could have gone. Maybe she couldn't sleep any more, Alasdair could have been whining, maybe she hadn't been feeling well – morning sickness had been a problem from the beginning of her pregnancy – or Rhianne could have called her. So why did he instantly anticipate that there was something wrong?

Was it because of the things she had said to him last night? She had asked him, if he would take good care of Alasdair if anything ever happened to her. He had thought that she wanted to hear comforting words, that he had to tell her everything was going to be alright. But when he now recalled their conversation he wasn't too sure about that anymore. She had sounded so serious and her words had seemed so final. And he had developed a good sense of noticing when she was holding something back. Was that what he had felt last night? Was there something she wasn't telling him?

"Marguerite!" he called again, but a bit louder this time.

There was no answer. A mixture of worry and fear was welling up in him. She wouldn't have shut him out now? She wouldn't have done anything on her own…

Quickly he got out of bed and went over to Alasdair's little bed. As he had expected the boy was still sleeping peacefully, clasping Sunny with his tiny fingers.

He didn't want to wake his son so he got himself dressed as quietly as he could. When he was on his way out of the room which served as their temporary accommodation he looked back on the sleeping form of his little one. He couldn't just leave him there? What if he awoke and nobody was there? What if something happened to him? _Don't be ridiculous, John_, he called himself to his senses. _This is Avalon what could possibly happen to him?_ But if it did, hadn't he himself promised Marguerite that he would guard him like a treasure? Even with his life.

He lifted the little child very carefully into his arms. Alasdair stirred and opened his eyes for a second. The sudden movement seemed to have given him a start.

"Shh! It's okay, Aly. It's only me… shh!" John calmed him and tried to assure him that everything was alright. The boy relaxed in his arms and fell asleep again.

John rushed out of their room determined to find Marguerite, but before he even started looking for her he couldn't get rid of the feeling that he wouldn't be successful.

…………………….

John Roxton wasn't even sure where to start looking for his beloved Marguerite. He went out of their accommodation and went along the path into the direction where he knew the others were accommodated. It was only a few yards from theirs, but as the village was a very small one he got a quick overall view of everything. There was no trace of Marguerite.

Two younger women came across halfway on his way to his friends. Both wore the typical white dresses every woman wore here. One of them had red, curly hair and the other one was blonde. They cast him a sad and compassionate glance. That made him suspicious. Could they know anything?

"Excuse me!" he called after the two women.

The two were indecisive whether to stop and talk to him or just walk away pretending they hadn't heard him. They knew exactly whom he was looking for and that the wisest thing to do would be following the road without paying too much attention to him. That was what Rhianne had insisted on, because she wanted to tell the visitors what had happened by herself. But compassion and sympathy were two of the traits that the women of Avalon were born with. The dark people and the Shadows of Zereon referred to it as a weakness, but Avalon's women were not naïve. They knew whom to trust and they had a distinctive sense of empathy but also suspicion.

The two women shared a fleeting look and turned as if they had come to a silent agreement. Before John could say anything the one with the curly red hair spoke:

"My name is Kerri and this is Brites." The blonde one slightly bowed. "How can we help you?"

"I'm looking for Marguerite. Your people refer to her as the Chosen One."

There it was again, the exchange of a very quick look as if they were communicating telepathically. Maybe they were….John had seen stranger things and especially since he was in Avalon now… The look was followed by silence and John could sense uncertainty in both women. Finally Kerri spoke up again.

"Actually we are not allowed to talk about that. Conroy and Rhianne are planning to tell you everything about their whereabouts very soon. You and your friends…" John felt anger and worry mixing in his body and it was a dangerous mixture. He had been right. There was something wrong and nobody seemed to care to enlighten him in anything.

"Tell me what! And when!" Kerri and Brites stepped back in awe. They had never heard anybody raise his voice in such a manner.

"You should better talk to Rhianne…" Brites quickly said before both turned around and ran away.

"I'm sorry!" John called after them. He knew it wasn't their fault that Marguerite couldn't be found and he shouldn't have shouted at them, but when it came to Marguerite being in danger he could hardly control himself.

Alasdair had woken up from his father's loud voice. He yawned and rubbed his eyes with his little fist.

"Mummy?" he asked silently, but full of expectation. John looked down on his son. The boy's asking for his mother made it even more difficult for John.

"Yes, mummy will be here soon!" And he hoped that these words would never turn into a lie.

He had to go and see Rhianne.

………………….

John burst into the building were the council met without knocking and he didn't waste any time with inappropriate friendliness.

"Where is Marguerite!" He stopped when he saw that the whole council was already present. At that early hour? He couldn't hide his surprise. Ned with little David in his arms and Challenger were also there.

"What is going on here? Is this a sort of game? Am I the only one who doesn't seem to be involved in this!" John was not very far from finally losing his temper. He couldn't bear this any longer. Challenger asked him to sit.

"We tried to find you." He explained to his friend. "Ned came to me telling me that Veronica was gone. We went to your accommodation, but you weren't there. That was when Rhianne came to us and asked us to meet the council once again. It seemed to be very important, but we don't know any more than you do." George's words calmed John's anger a bit. He sat down and waited for Rhianne to begin her explanation.

"Marguerite and Veronica are gone. You are right about that." She said. John couldn't help a scornful laugh.

"You couldn't be any more precise, could you?" he asked. Challenger put his hand on John's arm.

"Calm down, old boy!"

Rhianne took a breath and ignored the men's comments.

"It has begun! The fight we feared for generations has begun. Morrigan faces Dierdre and Avalon is preparing to go to war."

The men instantly knew what this was supposed to mean.

"You let them go over there! To Zereon? Without protection? Just the two of them!" It was Malone who said that. He shook his head in disbelief. There was an ice-cold silence in the room and John could feel the temperature of the room dropping. He wasn't able to say anything at first. He sat there petrified unable to move. Alasdair noticed his father's expression and he seemed to know what had happened. His mother…there was something wrong with her. Tears started streaming down his cheeks.

"They did this voluntarily. They are trying to save the whole world. If Morrigan is able to defeat r Dierdre everyone will be save. Their lives are sacrifices they were willing to make. They are trying to save you and your sons." One of the council members said. It was an elderly woman, Caoihme was her name.

"Do you know what you are talking about! Marguerite and Veronica are all alone in this place called Zereon. Full of dark and creepy creatures which really are the most evil contemporaries you can imagine. Marguerite doesn't stand a chance since she only just discovered that Morrigan is a part of her. She has no access to her powers or anything. And in addition to that: Marguerite is pregnant. That certainly makes her vulnerable in some way although she is one of the toughest women I know. Who the hell allowed them to go?" Neither Malone nor John had ever heard George talk in such an accusing and angry tone.

"I did." It was Conroy's voice. "It was the only chance we had. I'm not taking this lightly, but there are decisions to be made. Decisions for the greater good…Rhianne, were are you going?" He couldn't finish his sentence, because Rhianne stood up and left the building. She couldn't stand hearing this anymore. It all seemed so unfair. It was so easy for them to say things about decisions for the greater good, but did anyone ever think about Marguerite, Veronica and their families. She doubted that very much. She felt so guilty and responsible for all this mess. She had let them go although she should be the one to face Dierdre, because she had been the one who had watched inactively when the Chosen One was separated. No, this was just not right…

…………………..

John hated it when he couldn't do anything. He had put Alasdair to bed and was walking up and down in their apartment now. _Malone must feel the same right now_, he thought. He was so sick with worry that he could barely stand on his own two feet.

_I have to go looking for her, help her if necessary… haven't I promised her to never leave heron her own. To never abandon her, to always be there. But I also promised to take care of Alasdair. _And he couldn't see a chance to abide both promises at the same time. But he also couldn't just sit here. He had to talk to somebody, find out what situation Marguerite was in, if she was okay. But to whom could he ask that sort of questions?

He didn't have the opportunity to think any further about this question, because Alasdair awoke with a scream.

"Mummy!" He cried again and again. John rushed to his little bed and took him into his arms.

"Shh, it's okay. It was just a bad dream." He tried to comfort him, but Alasdair's crying wouldn't stop.

"Da'y!" He looked at him with his big green eyes that looked a lot like Marguerite's.

"Yes, daddy is here. It's okay…" He waved him gently in his arms, but the boy kept on crying.

"Not okay! Mummy hurt..." John stroked the boy's hair. And at the same time a terrible apprehension came to his mind. Didn't they say that Aly had the gift to see? What if what he saw in his dream was going to happen to Marguerite? He couldn't just sit here. He just couldn't! He had to get to her, help her whatever the price might be. He knew his son would be save here in Avalon.

"I'm so sorry, Aly!" he whispered while he pressed his face into the boy's hair.

End chapter sixteen…

**Author's note:** I'm so sorry that it took me so very, very long. I had a lot to do for school (which is no longer a part of my life ) and now I am a first-year biology student which is even more work.

This chapter was more or less written within a day. For a long time I lost my inspiration, but I hope to have found it back. The reason why I really found the motivation for this chapter were some reviews I received lately. THANKS TO EVERYONE who hasn't given up on me!


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